


Steady Eddie

by elesbells, Snowy38



Category: Harry Styles - Fandom, Larry Stylinson - Fandom, Louis Tomlinson - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: 70's, As accurate as possible, FBI, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Porn Star Harry, Pseudonames, Smut, Think Miss Congeniality, Undercover Agent Louis, both top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-10-25 03:59:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 84,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17717651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elesbells/pseuds/elesbells, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowy38/pseuds/Snowy38
Summary: “We’re bringing in a guy.” Ben said.Eddie stared at him.“You’re what?”Ben shrugged.“Apparently the gay market is grossly untapped,” he commented. “We stand to make a fortune. We have it on good authority that the gays love you. Of course,” he added with a dirty smirk. “Your size and all…”“Of course,” Eddie replied drily; something smarting in his chest. “I’ve been asking for a guy for the last two years…”“Well, now you’re getting one,” Ben smiled.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone  
> Apologies for accidentally deleting this. Reposting!
> 
> Ang

 

 

**_ Peeping Eddie! _ **

_King of Adult entertainment, Eddie Twist, has found himself in hot water after his Harley Davidson broke down outside The All Saints school for orphans in San Jose, Calif._

_Eddie; known for his roles in several World-Wide best-selling films such as Long Dong Silver and King Dong, was picked up by LAPD after school officials became concerned about his behaviour._

_Eddie was found with a camera concealed from view and was arrested on suspicion of lewd contact with a Minor. It appears Eddie is trying to transition from Adult entertainment into the seedy world of child pornography._

_While Twist’s case awaits evidence for trial; his future career remains in question._

 

//

 

“We're getting someone new in.”

 

Harry Edward “Eddie” Styles glanced up from his seat opposite the Boss; Ben Winston. He lifted his aviators from his face and pushed them into his mid-length; volumous hair with a lick of his bowed lips. His fitted white shirt was tucked into turquoise pants and he had on his patent white boots, but it was all part of a carefully-constructed image. It was all part of the façade that came with the name _Eddie Twist. His_ name. His pseudo-name to be exact.

 

“Why?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer to his question.

 

His brows furrowed anyway, waiting for Ben to confirm his hunch.

 

“The lawsuit isn’t good news, Eddie,” Ben told him with a click of his tongue against his teeth. “Women don’t wanna see their favourite dick perving over little boys…”

 

“I wasn’t perving over-“

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Ben cut him off. “I don’t care what you were doing. Quite frankly, if that’s what gets you hard for a shoot then I’m all for it, but can you keep it down low for a while?” He asked.

 

Eddie rolled his eyes.

 

“It's not what gets me hard,” he argued sullenly; scuffing the toe of one boot against the shiny surface of the other to create an annoying squeak.

 

“We’re doing something new,” Ben carried on regardless.

 

Eddie’s head snapped up; throat bobbing with a swallow. _Fuck_. They better not be punishing him; teaming him up with a collection of girls who were-

 

“We’re bringing in a guy.” Ben said.

 

Eddie stared at him.

 

“You’re what?”

 

Ben shrugged.

 

“Apparently the gay market is grossly untapped,” he commented. “We stand to make a fortune. We have it on good authority that the gays love you. Of course,” he added with a dirty smirk. “Your size and all…”

 

“Of course,” Eddie replied drily; something smarting in his chest. “I’ve been asking for a guy for the last two years…”

 

“Well, now you’re getting one,” Ben smiled. “Turns out boys aren’t as fussed about your dabbling around with children…”

 

“I didn’t dabble around with anyone,” Eddie countered, annoyed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “Who are you bringing in?”

 

“A newbie,” Ben suggested. “A twink, perhaps. Play up to your angelic side.”

 

“What angelic side?” Eddie mused; running his tongue firmly over his lower lip that still felt sore from the stubble of his last encounter with a male. Maybe he’d get to live out his fantasies on screen, now.

 

“The one that existed before you took this job,” Ben remarked. “Dig deep.”

 

“Oh, I’ll dig deep, alright,” he promised darkly.

 

“Oh, and that’s another thing,” Ben spoke again just as Harry moved to get up. “No anal with this guy until he’s got into the way we work,” he warned.

 

“No anal?” Eddie scoffed, sliding off his chair and slipping his sunglasses back into place. “What kind of porn film is this?”

 

“A clean one,” Ben smirked. “Until you’re cleared of the charges.”

 

Eddie sighed and left Ben’s office.

 

//

 

“What’re you doing, Irish?” Louis Tomlinson, FBI Detective, walked into the surveillance room at HQ and plopped beside his best friend Niall on the sofa they’d installed behind the boss’s backs.

 

Ergonomic chairs had been fitted for the long hours of sitting watching security cameras but they all knew that proper seating couldn’t match up to the comfort of a sofa. And so the room had become a boy-pit more than a professional office.

 

Louis spent most of his down-time in that room.

 

Niall looked up distractedly from where he was flicking through profiles on the TV screen; Agent Smith sat on the arm of the sofa on his other side and their section boss, James Corden, settled into an armchair.

 

“We need an agent to check out a suspect,” Niall explained. “Just been arrested for spying on little kids but it’s been going on for some time now and the guy has connections with the porn industry. We all know Ben Winston is untouchable, so we need a guy on the inside.”

 

“On the inside of porn?” Louis quirked a brow. “Think we’re all pretty familiar with that stuff if I’m honest, Nialler…”

 

“Smith’s committed to the Jenkins case- drugs trafficking,” Niall relayed. “He’s already established himself as a buddy to John Jenkins, so we can’t take him out.”

 

“Age-range?” Louis enquired.

 

“Twenty to twenty-five,” Corden piped up.

 

“Payne?” Louis suggested.

 

“Out with an injury,” Smith supplied.

 

“What about the Kid?” Louis smirked at his nick-name for the newest agent to the force; Tom Mulholland.

 

“Too green,” Niall responded. “Need someone with a little edge…”

 

Corden called Niall to stop as he reached Louis’ profile.

 

“What are you working on, Tommo?” The older man narrowed his eyes at Louis suddenly.

 

“Anything but this,” Louis replied.

 

“They want a twink,” Corden began, thoughtfully. “You’re small enough…all you’d have to do it trim your hair and shave your beard…”

 

“Wait, what?” Louis sat up; snatching the control from Niall’s hand to flick through the profiles on screen. “There’s hundreds of guys more suited to this job than me,” he claimed. “What about Daniels?” He stopped on the photo of a handsome, tall man with smooth hair.

 

“He’s in South Africa,” Corden explained, staring at Louis intently.

 

“Stop looking at me like that,” he snapped. “I’m not fucking anyone for the job, let alone for a fucking porno…”

 

“Just like any other one-nighter, Tommo,” Niall winked. “You might even learn something…”

 

“You know fuck all about my sexual prowess,” Louis batted back. “I’ve had many a dick in my time, a seasoned one won’t make any difference.”

 

“Is that a dig at my chicken?” Niall scoffed. “And I think you secretly like the idea of being fucked by a porn star, Tommo...”

 

“There’ll be no fucking,” Corden chimed in, eyes flitting between the pair. “It’s a no-penetration film shoot thanks to the main star’s recent arrest.”

 

“Arrest for what?” Louis asked as Niall leaned towards him with his tongue out; circling it lewdly until Louis shoved him away.

 

“He was caught taking photographs of children,” Corden offered in his smooth voice. “Guess he’s a peodo…”

 

Louis flicked his eyes over the other man coolly; taking a breath and letting it out.

 

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” he muttered.

 

“Ah!” Niall jumped on his wavering resolution. “You want the job!”

 

“No sex?” He checked, looking at his boss; the only man he trusted not to lie to him.

 

“They said they just wanted someone to be a body model.”

 

“What does that mean?” Louis asked, glancing around his colleagues for clarity.

 

They all came up with shrugs.

 

“What about the films?” Louis wondered. “My face is going to be out there for every criminal this side of Nevada to see…”

 

James smiled patiently.

 

“They film six months ahead of publication. You’ll be out before the tape even hits the editing suite. We just need to find out what this guy is up to...”

 

Louis narrowed his lashes.

 

“I’m not saying yes,” he warned.

 

Niall smirked as he got up, patting his shoulder.

 

“Good luck with the seasoning, mate….”

 

//

 

The red jeans were incredibly tight. Too tight to be comfortable for a normal person to wear.

 

“Twink to base, what the fuck are these jeans?” He asked; his camera hidden in an elaborate rainbow badge pinned to the top of his blazer pocket and his ear-piece attached to the thick-framed glasses covering his eyes.

 

“ _Porn jeans_ ,” Niall replied. “ _Stop talking to yourself, they’ll think you’re nuts_ ,” he hissed.

 

“Speaking of nuts,” Louis adjusted himself in the uncomfortable denim as he pushed his way into the foyer of the building which made up the Winston’s film studios.

 

It was as seedy-looking as it should be for their sector of work; large ferns parked beside low-slung grey couches; Miami sunsets framed around the room. A thin blonde was seated at the reception desk, filing her nails and chewing on gum; her head-set settled over her ponytailed hair.

 

“Can I help you?” She asked with a bored blink of her eyes.

 

Louis opened his mouth to give his name when the echoing click of heels on tile overtook the power of his voice. He waited patiently for the foot-fall to stop before he tried to talk again; not bothering to look around to acknowledge the newcomer. Perhaps he should have because a body nestled against his from behind with far too much familiarity.

 

“Actually, can _I_ help you?” A deep, rumbling voice asked against his ear; a hand smoothing over his side sensuously.

 

Louis tensed at the open fondling of his body; twisting to glare at the offender. _Eddie Twist_. He rolled his eyes in barely-hidden disgust.

 

“No wonder you’re being hailed a pervert,” Louis quipped; reaching behind his back to grip Eddie's wrist and yank his hand away from his waist. “Did anyone tell you that you can look but not touch?”

 

Eddie’s green eyes fixed on his face; cool at first and then his lips pulled into a smirk as his eyes flicked down Louis at a leisurely, appreciative pace.

 

“That ass is too good-looking not to touch,” he smiled in a way which Louis was sure had won him many a bed-partner.

 

“You’re not going to get the pleasure of touching it,” Louis promised; fixing his glasses.

 

“ _Easy, Tommo_ ,” Niall’s voice warned him quietly.

 

“Can I take your name?” The blonde at the desk asked him finally.

 

“Will Darling,” he stated. “I’m here to meet Mr. Winston…”

 

Beside him, Eddie chuckled.

 

“What’s funny?” Louis narrowed his lashes to glare at him.

 

“You’re my new partner,” Eddie smiled smugly. “Pretty sure I’ll be touching your ass plenty,” he goaded.

 

Louis paused; considering the tall, lean man in the white, flared trousers and the black, pussy-bow shirt. Louis was playing a part and the part required him to feign interest.

 

“I better be getting paid well for this,” he muttered; following the blonde into the building towards Ben’s office.

 

//

 

Eddie stared at the side of Louis' face while they walked along the hall together, his silly; over pronounced swagger definitely a side effect of the business.

 

Louis combed fingers through his fringe and peeked at Eddie to check he hadn’t made out the tiny audio device attached to the arm of his thick framed glasses.

 

“I like boys in glasses,” Eddie told him; brushing their arms together.

 

Louis gave him an unimpressed look.

 

“So do I. Geeky ones,” he added flatly in the hope that Eddie might take the hint. When Eddie just smirked in a manner he intended to be seductive; Louis pushed him away with his elbow. “Bit of space would be nice...”

 

Eddie merely pirouetted away with a giggle.

 

“You’re so tiny I thought you’d be fed up of all that space you have around you,” he quipped as he opened the door to Ben’s office without knocking.

 

“Perks of bedding the boss?” Louis enquired as he strolled in. “Get to go wherever you want?”

 

Eddie slunk in behind Louis, deliberately brushing his crotch against Louis’ hip in a way that left Louis little doubt as to his talent. Eddie knew what he was doing with his package- and from what Louis had seen, it was _some_ package.

 

“Got _you_ here didn’t I?” Eddie murmured silkily in his ear.

 

Louis cleared his throat as Ben stood to greet him.

 

“Will, is it?” Ben checked.

 

Louis nodded, shoving his glasses up his nose.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“ _You’re not at HQ now_ ,” Niall reminded him. “ _Relax_.”

 

“Do I call you boss?” Louis added.

 

“Ben will do,” his new boss confirmed.

He stood up and came around the desk to circle Louis with a thoughtful frown.  “Yes, I remember you from the auditions. Incredible ass...”

 

“Incredible,” Eddie echoed in a purr.

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“So, you’ve met our Superstar,” Ben mused as he moved back behind his desk. “Eddie here is our top earner.”

 

“Pretty sure I can give him a run for his money,” Louis smirked, lifting onto his toes and rocking back onto his heels with his hands clasped behind his back.

 

Ben gave him a curious arch of his brow.

 

“You’re certainly very confident,” he considered. “I’m not sure how that’ll work on screen yet but I’m willing to try you out.”

 

Louis turned his face to smile directly at the beanpole.

 

“Just keep your hands to yourself _off_ screen,” he warned.

 

Eddie blinked coolly; curly lashes flicking up lazily as he pursed his lips and then smacked them together.

 

“Do we still have the number for that little redhead?” Eddie asked Ben; narrowing his eyes as he continued to stare at Louis.

 

Louis jerked his chin towards him.

 

“Er, best ass in Los Angeles, maybe the whole of America right here,” he pointed to his denim-wrapped behind.

 

“I’m sure that tall guy-Jerome was it? I’m sure he had a _thing_ for me. It kinda helps you know,” Eddie told him.  “Gets me _hot._ ”

 

“ _Fucking fix this Tommo_ ,” Niall hissed in his ear.

 

Louis rolled his eyes, clenching his teeth together to feign a sweet smile.

 

“I’ve got a thing for you,” he lied, fidgeting with his glasses.

 

Eddie snorted, leaning back to settle himself on the corner of the desk; wincing imperceptibly and resettling. Louis' eyes grazed his lean muscular body; evident even through his theatrical clothes; his aviators guarding his green eyes and his white pants draping attractively over the thick set of his thighs.

 

“Call Jerome,” Eddie glanced at Ben. “I like tall guys better.”

 

“We're not calling anyone,” Ben sighed. “Will is just what the audience is looking for. Now you two need to sort out whatever _this_ is about;” He gestured with flailing hands. “And the next time I see you I expect you to be in the mood to fuck each other, not kill each other!”

 

Eddie stood up from the desk and gave a disgruntled look at Ben; his hands moving to fiddle with his pussy bow unnecessarily.

 

“Thought I was the one who called the shots here,” he murmured.

 

“You also got arrested for peeping at kiddos so suck it up!” Ben added.

 

“I wasn’t _peeping_ ,” Eddie began to argue but Ben came around the side of his desk once more to guide him out.

 

“Three dates,” Ben stated. “You know the drill. The first shoot will be Thursday morning. Get here early and be _prepared_ ,” he warned.

 

Louis staggered out of his office as Ben gently shoved him into the hall; Eddie smoothly flicking his hair as he swaggered out.

 

Louis blinked at him.

 

“ _Be nice_ ,” Niall instructed.

 

“What did he mean by be prepared?” Louis asked, genuinely curious.

 

Eddie rolled his eyes and brushed past him in the hall.

 

“Newbies,” he muttered in a low voice.

 

//

 

“Have you ever done film before?” Eddie asked as they reconvened at a seedy bar; one with glass walls and transparent toilet doors that Louis had already been accosted through by a patron.

 

He'd almost felt relieved that Eddie was accompanying him, but he adjusted his gratitude when Eddie had given him the once-over on his return from the toilets only to flick his nose in the air with a wipe of his fingers underneath his nostrils; symbolizing the errant drug-use that the kind of people who frequented this bar might partake in.

 

As if _Louis_ would snort something! The insinuation was insulting at best. But Eddie didn’t know him. And he wasn’t going to.

 

“The odd bit-part in my teens,” Louis shared. “Where’s your camera then?”

 

Eddie frowned at him; one elbow propped on the bar and his shirt now unbuttoned so that when he leaned over, his chest and the tattoos adorning it were visible to the server.

 

“My what?”

 

“Your camera,” Louis repeated. “The one you took the peodo pictures with...”

 

Eddie narrowed his gaze; nostrils flaring as the swell of his pecs deepened with the twist of his torso in Louis' direction.

 

“I’m not a fucking peodo,” he mumbled. “Fucking drop it, okay?”

 

Louis arched a brow, catching the eye of the barman and lifting his chin; earning his immediate attention.

 

“What can I get you?” He asked.

 

“Sweet pink cloud,” Louis smiled, flicking his eyes towards Eddie. “And whatever he’s having,” he added.

 

“Same again,” Eddie decided, watching Louis with a curious frown. “What’s in it?”

 

Louis scoffed.

 

“Shouldn’t you have asked that _before_ you ordered it?”

 

Eddie shrugged, standing straight only to cross his legs at the ankles to make them appear impossibly long.

 

“Ohmygod!” The shrill gasp was unmistakable.

 

Louis twisted just in time to see the female fan fling herself forward; pressing her body against Eddie's in a tight, unreturned hug.

 

“Um...” Eddie tried to peel the woman away.

 

“You’re so beautiful!” She gushed; skin mottled red with embarrassment. “I’m such a big fan! Huge!”

 

Eddie swallowed; fidgeting slightly in a way which had Louis paying extra attention. If he didn’t know better he’d say Eddie was almost _shying away_ from the attention. But that would be ludicrous. He was just keeping a low profile, he mused. Trying not to encourage any more rumours.

 

“Thank you for your-“

 

“Fuck me, Eddie!” She begged suddenly, earning a moment of shocked silence from both men.

 

“Er, love, I hate to tell you this, but our Eddie here is into boys,” Louis smirked.

 

“Not _just_ boys,” Eddie lifted a brow as he finally peeled the fan away and kept her at arm's length. “Maybe another night, hm?” He added with a lopsided smile; voice husky.

 

“Really?” She asked and Eddie winked, licking his lips.

 

“Absolutely. Stay beautiful for me, yeah?”

 

The fan nodded and stumbled away; leaving Louis cradling two cocktails with a bored expression.

 

“When you've finished pretending you’re straight to the female contingent of this bar...” He accused, turning to find a seat.

 

//

 

“Hey! I’m into women too, you know,” Eddie sank into the wicker love seat beside Louis.

 

Not Louis' intention because he’d sat towards the centre of it, so he could get comfy and put his feet up, but Eddie didn’t seem to know much about _personal space_.

 

He elbowed at the taller, thinner man when their thighs brushed.

 

“I’m sure you're happy to stick your sizeable asset in any hole,” Louis commented, sipping his pink champagne and crème coconut mixer.

 

Eddie shifted; but it wasn’t to make space between them. He stood up; black silk shirt hanging open to reveal the tips of a pair of butterfly wings which were inked onto his stomach. His hair- which was long enough to be unruly; flopped forward in a swept curl; not decided on which way it wanted to settle and Louis almost remarked on the irony of it if it wasn’t for the surprising look of bewilderment on Eddie’s face.

 

He clearly hadn’t expected Louis to be difficult.

 

“I don’t know why you came to the audition, Will, but let's face it. You’re no better than me,” he argued. “Stop acting like every other asshole in this town and suck it up,” he growled; snatching up his glass and slinking into the crowd to find somewhere else to settle.

 

Louis picked up his drink and threw back the glass; startled by a loud; off-pitch screech in his ear.

 

“What the fuck?!” He yelped; jumping up to dash the sticky alcohol from his striped t-shirt as quickly as possible.

 

“ _Oh sorry_ ,” Niall said; sounding far from sorry. “ _I must have fallen asleep. Because the last thing I knew you were supposed to befriending this guy_ ,” he accused. “ _Not making him hate you._ ”

 

Louis huffed; looking down at himself. He’d have to try and clean himself up, at the very least.

 

//

 

“Oh. He has a nice _front_ , too...”

 

Eddie's voice echoed around the men’s toilets as he strolled in; all long legs and unbuttoned shirt. He looked ruined.  Red lipstick smeared his lips and when Louis flicked his eyes down; he found the waistband of his trousers unhooked and the zipper cross-threaded; bursting open under the swell of Eddie’s dick.

 

Eddie licked his lips and ran his fingers through his dishevelled hair.

 

“Want a go?” He asked.

 

Louis rolled his eyes; shirt laid in the sink while he tried to get the worst of the sticky residue off his skin.

 

“Actually, I’m just trying to find a clean shirt,” Louis replied with a sigh.

 

Eddie moved closer; limbs definitely looser than when Louis had last seen him.

 

“Think you should stay like that,” his green eyes clung to Louis' chest; focusing and unfocusing as he swayed.

 

Louis blinked.

 

“Gonna walk me home then, Romeo?”

 

Eddie smirked; stepping into Louis' space.

 

“If you hadn’t worked it out yet, I’m Juliet,” he whispered; snorting as another patron came into the bathroom and forcing him to hide in a giggly mess in one of the stalls.

 

Louis heard him start to pee.

 

“Look...I'm sorry that I was rude earlier,” Louis called into the room; hoping his voice carried over the open top of the stall. “It wasn’t easy taking this job. I’ve never done this kind of thing before and-“

 

He paused as the other patron exited his stall; blue eyes flicking to him in the mirror.

 

The guy nodded and washed his hands quickly before leaving.

 

“And?” He heard Eddie prompt from behind the stall door.

 

“And you’re fucking massive, okay?” Louis sighed. “It’s a bit intimidating.”

 

The toilet door swung open; Eddie situated sideways in a curled position; legs crossed at the calves and bent at the knee; wedged up on the side to hold him in place. He smiled disarmingly.

 

“Darling; I’m a consummate professional,” he teased in a posh accent. “It's not how big you are, it’s what you do with it...”

 

“Not your-“ Louis span to stalk over. “Not your dick, you narcissistic bastard,” he accused. “Your reputation!”

 

Eddie lifted a brow, cheek dimpling as he gave a flat-mouthed grimace.

 

“Oh. _That_.”

 

“Yeah that,” Louis sighed.

 

“ _Good work Tommo,_ ” Niall praised. “ _Now tell him you like his dick._ ”

 

Louis almost let the words slide off his tongue before he caught himself. _Fuck off Neil._

“ _I’ll bet you a full cooked breakfast that you can’t say it_.”

 

Louis stared at Eddie in his folded-up position; feet glued to the floor. He should move. He had to move for Eddie to move. Only Eddie wasn’t moving either. Eddie was staring, too.

 

“I like the pink drink,” Eddie slurred.

 

“I like your pink dick,” Louis returned with a quick; stretched smile before he turned away; his eardrum almost shattered by the piercing shriek in his ear. “Fuck,” he hissed, ripping his glasses off.

 

He felt Eddie lope up slowly behind him; pausing before they touched.

 

“Everyone likes my dick,” Eddie stated and then glided back towards the party in his wrecked state.

 

//

 

 “You know, Ben likes his actors to _get to know each other_ before they shoot,” Eddie mumbled as he leaned towards Louis in the back seat of the cab.

 

He smoothed his palm over Louis’ thigh and guided it toward the inner seam of his red jeans.

 

Louis fought the urge to tense up and to strong-arm him into a position of submission like he would with any other handsy lush on a night out.

 

“Really?” He mused, looking out of the window and into the dark.

 

Eddie's nylon shirt slid against the leather as the driver turned a corner and caused him to veer sharply over, too drunk to haul himself up.

 

His hand jogged onto Louis’ knee and Eddie collapsed with a snorted laugh against his side.

 

“Think I had too much pink,” he murmured, subtly shifting up closer.

 

Louis gripped his fingers and slid his hand away.

 

“You can keep that to yourself, ta.”

 

Eddie yawned; hand curving back around Louis’ knee as soon as he looked away.

 

“It's okay if you’re just taking this job to help pay your student debts,” Eddie offered. “If it’s your first time then we’ll get you warmed up before we _shoot_...”

 

The way Eddie said _shoot_ had Louis imagining his hand on Eddie’s thick dick while he pumped out gallons of spunk in some kind of crazy comic-disaster scene. He slid his hand away again.

 

“Obviously it’s a foreign concept to you but most people respect personal boundaries,” Louis quipped.

 

“In this job there _are_ no boundaries,” Eddie mused, rolling his body away to gain traction to sit up. “You really think we can just walk in on Thursday, drop our clothes and get on with it?” He asked. “Why do you think Ben has a three-date rule? _Everyone_ gives out by the third,” Eddie smiled slowly; a little bit fuzzy and his hair flopping over his forehead in wilted curls.

 

Louis swung his gaze from the window to Eddie.

 

“He said no anal.”

 

Harry smirked.

 

“Oh, because there’s nothing awkward about giving me head without knowing how I taste or what gets me strong?”

 

Louis swallowed as the car pulled up outside a surprisingly suburban flock of houses.

 

“Seems like that’s not a hard task,” Louis joked huskily; catching Eddie's eye to offer him a wry smile.

 

“When are we going on our first date?” Eddie asked only as he shifted across the seat to get out.

 

“Isn't _this_ our first date?” Louis queried.

 

“No, this is drinks after work,” Eddie smiled.

 

“Tomorrow?” Louis suggested.

 

“Sundays are for church and ice cream,” Eddie drawled as he ducked to climb out of the car. “Minus the church.”

 

Louis nodded.

 

“Pick you up at four.”

 

Eddie laughed; shaking his head.

 

“Meet you in the studio parking lot, Eager Beaver,” he murmured.

 

“Fine, see you then,” Louis confirmed; dipping his head to watch Eddie walk up one of the quaint; traditional paths towards one of the Stepford houses.

 

So much for a glamorous, top of the range bachelor suite.

 

//

“ _Good job Tommo. You pulled it back,”_ Niall commended.

 

“Do I need to come in and fill out paperwork?” Louis asked as the taxi pulled away from the curb.

 

“Nah leave it till tomorrow. I want to hear what flavour popsicle you sucked...”

 

“Fuck off _Neil_.” Louis spat, knocking his head back and sinking into the backseat a little.

 

The driver flicked him a look in the rear-view mirror but didn’t question him about apparently talking to himself.

 

“ _Hey. Be nice tomorrow_ ,” Niall added. “ _You’re meant to be an eager young newbie, not a jaded old prude_. “

 

“Can’t help that the guy's a massive dick, can I?” He huffed; then sighed as he realised his mistake.

 

“ _Stop going on about his dick mate or I might think you like it_...”

 

Louis wished him a good night and settled his glasses in his lap.

 

 _He_ was worried he might get to like it too.

 

//

 

“So, where's the million-pound luxury apartment? “ Louis asked as he plopped into the low seat of the burnt orange sedan; the passenger door thrown open by Eddie who reached across to let him in.

 

Louis had wondered if they might take his own 1963 Ford Zodiac, but he ought to know better that Eddie wanted to be in control of driving.

 

He tried to quieten the professional side of him that wanted to check how much alcohol was still in Eddie's blood from his rather heavy night.

 

Not that he could tell looking at him. His hair was its usual perfect bouffant; his hands adorned with the same set of chunky and beautiful rings and his eyes still shielded by the aviators that Louis kind of wanted to snap in half because of how much of an asshole Eddie looked in them.

 

“Miami,” Eddie replied; the sleeves of his white leather jacket unzipped to showcase the dart of pink silk lining; the cropped boxy design suiting his honed torso as he leaned back in his reclined driving seat.

 

“Miami?” Louis looked at him. “So, what was that last night?”

 

Eddie smirked.

 

“A friend's house.“

 

Louis nodded, swallowing hard.

 

“How many “friends” have you got?”

 

Eddie snorted.

 

“The answer to that would boggle your young, innocent mind, Will,” he teased. “Willy,” he added with a smug grin. “Your stage name.”

 

“What about Will the Wonder?” He asked.  “Will the long-“

 

“Hey,” Eddie cut him off softly. “There's only one foot long in this business.”

 

Louis couldn’t help but stare; the wet snorting giggles of his work partner filling his ear. He slid his glasses off to pretend to pinch the bridge of his nose.

 

“I won’t choke you, Blue,” Eddie promised. “I’ll only fuck your throat if you like it...”

 

Louis slid his glasses back on.

 

“You’re talking like I’m playing your bitch,” Louis mused. “I might choke _you._ ”

 

Eddie glanced over as he drew up at a red light; matching white trousers flexing with the muscle in his thigh as he applied the brakes and changed gear.

 

“With your bare hands, no doubt,” Eddie arched a brow.  

 

“My dick is a perfectly decent size to choke on, thank you,” Louis countered haughtily. 

 

When he sensed Eddie looking away back to the road ahead, he surveyed his profile and caught the younger man's dimpling cheek and the way he sucked his lower lip into his mouth to temper his smile. Something like victory burned in his veins at the knowledge Eddie found him amusing despite their abrasive start.

 

“I’m sure it is. Ben doesn’t hire little guys for no reason,” he mused.

 

“Didn’t think he hired guys at all...” Louis led, focusing on Eddie to show his interest in his response.

 

Eddie considered him; between long glances at the road.

 

“Seems like you know a lot,” Eddie observed with a husk in his voice that caught on certain inflections.

 

“ _Tell_ _him you saw the Daily Triumph article speculating that Winston would start to tap the gay market,”_ Niall inserted smoothly.

 

“I do _read_ you know,” he scoffed. “I saw the story on the Boss. The one about him switching to same-sex films...”

 

“Don’t tell me,” Eddie lifted his hand off the wide, leather bound steering wheel and fluttered his fingers, rocking the heavy rose ring on his middle finger back and forth distractedly. “That’s when you decided you wanted to be a pornstar...”

 

Louis made a disgruntled face.

 

“Oh absolutely,” he replied casually. “Knew that this was my calling in life after reading that.”

 

“Then why _are_ you here?” Eddie looked at him through his rose-gold tinted aviators; dragging his big fringe back with his bejewelled fingers.

 

Louis cleared his throat.

 

“Money, obviously,” he lied. “Fame. And-“ he paused, taking a moment to look back at Eddie.

 

“And?” Eddie prompted in a seductive purr.

 

“You’ll laugh,” Louis rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to say it. “

 

“Say it.” Eddie encouraged.

 

“No, it’s stupid,” he sighed.

 

Eddie settled his long fingers on Louis' thigh once more.

 

“Say it,” he coaxed softly.

 

Louis swallowed; meeting his gaze and detecting something other than what Eddie was presenting. Almost as if...

 

 _No_ , he mused. Eddie Twist was _not_ secretly empathetic or kind or any of those soft, sweet things that were rarely found in the world. He was only concerned out of  obligation.

 

“I could use the reputation,” Louis admitted finally with an eye-roll.

 

Eddie's gaze lingered on him for long enough that Louis became concerned about their safety, but the road was long and straight and he had no idea where they were going.

 

Eddie’s lips pushed forward into a purse; his fingers slipping off Louis' thigh to fiddle with the radio.

 

“You’re trying to tell me you don’t get enough attention?” Eddie glanced over at him, brow arched accusingly.

 

Louis flicked his fringe away and ran a hand over his smooth jaw.

 

“Where are we going anyway?” He asked; changing topic artfully.

 

“For ice cream,” Eddie replied dourly as though Louis should know that fact.

 

“You weren’t joking,” he realised with chuck of amused air.

 

“I never joke, Willy. I may _tease_ ,” he waggled his brows. “But you'll learn that soon enough...”

 

Louis swallowed, wondering exactly what Eddie had in mind for their evening after ice cream.

 

“So, you like the ice cream parlour for the kids?” Louis enquired.

 

Eddie gave him a half-lidded, side-eyed look and reached  to turn the radio up.

 

//

 

“ _You’ve got to be subtler than that Lou_ ,” Niall told him as he looked out of his own window. “ _Talk about his family or something. What he does for fun._ ”

 

Louis knew the drill. He wasn’t one of the best undercover FBI agents for no reason. But something about this assignment wasn’t sitting well with him and he was fucking it up like a regular newbie.

 

It didn’t help that the only way to communicate with Eddie appeared to be through seduction and that was something that Louis wasn’t good at. He was good at his job; he worked hard and played harder but _romance?_ He snorted. He didn’t have time for that.

 

“What's up with you?” Eddie glanced over.

 

“Nothing,” Louis replied. “Well...I was just thinking about watching a few films to get an idea of what Ben wants from me. You got any you can recommend?”

 

Eddie gave him a salacious once over.

 

“We could watch a few together if you like. After.”

 

The promise lingered in the car as they pulled up at a set of shops; the only one lit up being the _Cream Cabin_ ; big loopy writing and clouds depicted in neon bulbs.

 

Louis got out of the car and drifted towards the glass shop front to peek inside.

 

“Nice jeans,” Eddie murmured as he loped up behind him in his white jacket and flared trousers, a coffee coloured cotton shirt with tiny squares printed on it in patches adding texture.

 

Louis felt plain in comparison; his rolled cuff, washed out jeans were not _exactly_ in fashion; his tie dyed pale blue t-shirt accessorised with a tied bandana around his neck.

 

“You look a bit like Frenchie from Grease,” Eddie tugged the edge of his bandana with a slow smile. The tip of his tongue ran over the corner of his mouth. “Cute.”

 

He scoffed and turned away to push inside the parlour; checking to see how many people were already seated.

 

He hovered at the display counter to consider the options while he subtly observed Eddie in action.

 

“Connie,” Eddie greeted the server by leaning over the counter to cup her face and kiss her cheek warmly. “It’s been too long!”

 

“Wanna come out back?” the dark-haired woman asked without a greeting. He tried not to show his derision.

 

“Actually, I’m here with a friend,” Eddie told her; although the way he said the word “friend” came off much more suggestive.

 

“You can both come back,” Connie offered easily.

 

“Will, c'mere, love,” Eddie reached a hand toward him and beckoned.

 

Every bone in Louis' body told him not to go. _Do not comply with that utter egomaniac._ His feet moved anyway, finger pushing his glasses up his nose.

 

“ _I hope you’re getting mint choc chip,_ ” Niall's voice buzzed quietly in his ear. “ _Get me some cookie dough._ ”

 

Louis stopped beside Eddie who was leaned against the counter attractively; all long clean lines and broad leather-jacketed shoulders.

 

“Yes, Eddie?” He asked obediently.

 

Eddie looked at him for a moment with an odd kind of narrowing of his gaze, but it soon melted away into a fluttering of his lashes and a practiced smile.

 

“I’d like you to meet Connie,” he introduced. “Connie this is Will. My _very good friend_ ,” he winked.

 

Connie gaped.

 

“I thought you only like girls,” she remarked after greeting Louis.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“I go wherever the wind takes me.”

 

“Pretty sure your sex addiction has nothing to do with the weather,” Louis quipped. “Can I order three scoops please?” He added smoothly to Connie with a smile.

 

Connie flicked her gaze over him slowly; pursing her lips.

 

“Is that code for a threesome with you and Eddie?” She wondered hopefully.

 

Louis almost choked; Niall's sputtering not helping him to retain his cool.

 

“No, it fucking isn't,” he huffed, glaring at Eddie. “I’ll be chewing off my arm at a table while you sow your wild oats,” he added before he mooched over to a booth and slid onto the leather seat.

 

He startled when he looked up into Eddie’s smiling face.

 

“What the-“

 

“What flavours do you want?” Eddie asked.

 

Louis blinked, heart thrusting against his ribcage.

 

“Oh, feeding me to keep me entertained while you fuck out back,” he mused. “Classy.  I’ll have mint choc chip, cookie dough and why don’t you pick one for me?” He asked.

 

Eddie nodded once and vanished; leaving Louis alone again.

 

“Niall you there?” He whispered, pretending to browse the menu.

 

“ _Yep buddy._ ”

 

“What’s this guy's history?” Louis checked.  “Parents, upbringing?”

 

_“Born in New York City to Des and Anne Styles, they divorced when he was nine and he got placed with his druggie mother. His stepfather adopted him when Anne died from an overdose.”_

“He’s taken his stepfather’s name?” Louis enquired. 

 

“ _Yeah_ _not sure why that is. Not something he’s talked much about in interviews.”_

“No, probably just focused on sex,” he murmured; glancing up two seconds later to see Eddie approaching with two bowls.

 

“Here you go, sulker,” he bent his body to slide in beside Louis; his own selection of flavours appearing to be fruit-related and topped with skittles, Smarties and rainbow sprinkles.

 

Louis stared at the concoction as Eddie stirred the lot together.

 

“Dare I even ask?” Louis mused.

 

Eddie pointed to Louis' bowl with his spoon.

 

“Try the mystery flavour,” he encouraged.

 

Louis looked at the dark-coloured scoop and tried to sniff it. He dug out a tiny tip of a spoonful and licked it cautiously. Eddie’s eyes immediately swooped to catch the move; his own tongue lathing over his lower lip with slow deliberation as he watched.

 

“Well?” He prompted in a deep voice; his shirt falling open as he leaned forward to tuck into his own melted, mixed up mess. Louis didn’t remember that many buttons of his shirt being open on the car ride there and tried not to focus on the flash of smooth bare skin winking at him from underneath the gaping cotton.

 

“Dark bitter chocolate,” Louis guessed.

 

Eddie’s eyes actually lit up with the kind of genuine delight that Louis felt certain wasn’t possible from the man.

 

“It tastes like me,” he related smugly. “So I’m told.”

 

“By Connie?” Louis asked but the answer was evident.

 

Eddie laughed, loud and stark.

 

“Not _everyone_ gives good head, Will,” he purred. “We both know that boys do it best...”

 

Louis looked up intrigued.

 

“Then who...?”

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“It doesn’t matter. Perhaps you can tell me if he was right,” he suggested, knocking his knee against Louis' gently.

 

“Do people usually suck you off after you give them that line?” Louis wondered.

 

Eddie smirked in a way that told Louis they _did_.

 

“Want to get some extra to take back with us?” Eddie asked back.

 

“Hey, pervert!” A loud, aggrieved voice cut over their arguing.

 

“ _Lou, what’s going on?”_ Niall asked as Louis looked up to observe the visitor to their table.

 

“Weren't you just caught fiddling with kids?” the stranger accused as Eddie sat back; chin lifting to stare them in the eye. “Fucking cheek to come trawling for more!”

 

“I’m here with a friend,” Eddie mumbled only, glancing around.

 

“He looks barely old enough either!” The man complained; gesturing at Louis. “Peodo,” he hissed. “Fuck off out of it.”

 

Louis shifted to tell this person to sit down before he _made_ him; but Eddie was sliding along the seat to stand up. He towered over the man, tall and graceful and he turned to look at Louis coolly.

 

“Do you want a ride home?” Eddie asked him.

 

Louis clambered out of the booth and nodded.

 

“Yeah let’s go, Stud.”

 

Eddie turned to lead the way out, but Louis' arm was hooked by the man challenging them.

 

“Watch that one,” he warned. “Pervert, I tell you,” he murmured.

 

Louis nodded and followed Eddie out.

 

//

 

“Let’s see your bachelor pad then,” Louis stated as he sat in the passenger seat of the Sedan.

 

Eddie stared at him for a long minute before starting the car.


	2. Chapter 2

“Shall we loosen up a little?” Eddie invited as he slipped off his jacket; revealing the smooth taut muscles of his back which moved with the fitted cotton of his shirt.

 

The Malibu house was a beach house; situated directly next to the sand and as opulent as Louis had expected.

 

He’d been in houses like that before but usually to sniff out rare diamonds or foil a drug deal. He didn’t have much reason to enjoy luxury for luxury’s sake. But this job was looking to become long-term, so he untied his bandana.

 

“Loose,” he flapped it about to evidence the fact to Eddie.

 

Eddie twisted; fingers slowly tugging his shirt from his flares; the remaining buttons slipped through the button holes to free them.

 

“C'mon Will.  I’ve got some trunks you can borrow. How about a nice dip in the Jacuzzi?”

 

Louis eyed him warily.

 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather invite your ice-cream connoisseur?”

 

“Careful, Will,” Eddie murmured.  “I might think you’re getting jealous over there...”

 

“ _Nice touch, Tommo,_ ” Niall praised. “ _Play the jealous newbie._ ”

 

Eddie stripped his shirt off easily and threw a wink Louis' way before disappearing into the vast apartment.

 

Louis didn’t bother to follow him. Instead he took the opportunity to snoop around.  The kitchen was open and bright white; matching furniture and cupboards only broken up by flashes of neon colour in the utensils which were stacked tidily in a holder on the side.

 

The kitchen swept into an eating cove; large framed prints hung at the adjacent walls which looked abstract at first but once Louis gazed at them for a moment he made out the curves of female bodies entwined together. _No surprises there._

Heading nonchalantly into the lounge area; he was impressed by the relaxed feel of it. This room was far more lived-in than the other two. Proof that Eddie didn’t entertain his guests with his cooking. But the worn tan leather sofa and coffee- toned decoration in the room certainly drew him in.

 

 _“What are the bedrooms like?_ ” Niall asked.

 

“I’m not planning to find out,” Louis murmured.  “Probably worn out,” he added drily.

 

He glanced around the room to seek out photographs; roaming towards a side cupboard which appeared to have a range of frames propped on it.

 

Two of the larger frames showed Eddie with his arm around an older gentleman's shoulders; his smile boyish and eager. The glint in his eyes was youthful; a bandana tied around his hair- which looked longer than it was now; errant, wild curls tamed by the cotton band.

 

The smaller frames were older pictures; children depicted in them that didn’t look like Eddie, but they were obviously family, there were no glamour shots or kids in school to be worried about.

 

Louis flapped the cotton square in his hand as he circled the sofa impatiently; glancing towards the stairs to check on Eddie’s progress.

 

A gigantic painting stilled him; his gaze flicking to it belatedly. It took up most of the back wall; painted in dark brown and ombre hues but the subject matter was unmistakable.  _The painting was of Eddie._

“ _Jesus Christ...”_ Niall spoke Louis' thoughts aloud.

 

The sweeping brushstrokes made up Eddie’s throat; cross-hatched colours shading underneath his chin which was thrust upwards; his limbs were not shown but the way his lips were swollen and parted; his tongue darted out to the side, made the picture jump off the canvas and right into Louis’ pants.

 

_The painting was most certainly of Eddie mid-orgasm._

His eyelids were heavy; forced shut; lashes spiking upwards prettily by the way the artist told it; faint furrows above his brows as he cried out, perhaps. He definitely looked to be writhing and moaning, Louis decided.

 

“ _Lou_ -“ Niall warned as he hesitated in front of the erotic art, his blood lighting on fire at the very blatant visual of Eddie in the throes of passion.

 

“Oh. You found it.”

 

Eddie didn’t sound embarrassed. Louis turned slowly to face him, warm fingers brushing his and causing him to frown until Eddie tugged the bandana from his fingers.

 

“You don’t mind do you?” He rolled the cloth up diagonally and went about tying it around his head; fixing his hair _exactly_ like in the picture on the side.  “So, what do you think?” He asked of the painting.

 

“It's uh,” Louis cleared his throat slightly. “It’s incredible.”

 

“No accusations about having pictures of myself on the walls?” Eddie checked. “Did you start on the rum, already?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes; letting them rake subtly over Eddie's body. He’d put on a tiny pair of red shorts with white piping; a black and white stripe situated across the hip. Nothing else adorned him, not his rings or his aviators or the tiny cross necklace Louis had noted he wore.

 

His chest was smooth but gently muscled with swollen pecs and a toned stomach. His arms when he lifted one; bore evidence of thick biceps and his height meant he was slightly prone too looking top-heavy, but his big feet and thick thighs balanced him out slightly.

 

The mound cupped in his ridiculously tiny trunks reminded Louis why he was here at all. _Was he really twelve inches?_

 

“Here,” Eddie tugged the spare trunks from the waist band of his shorts, Louis’ eyes lifting from squinting at the fuzzy hair on his thighs; to focus on his face

 

He lifted up the mid-thigh length sporty blue shorts and lifted a brow.

 

“These belong to you?” He doubted.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“Before I got into acting,” he explained. “I wasn’t always such a show off,” he smirked.

 

Louis took the shorts to the bathroom to change and snuck the towelling robe which was hung on the back of the door to belt around himself.

 

 _Jesus.  What was he thinking?_ He’d never considered himself a shy man before but something about Eddie's blatant exhibitionism made him want to hide.

When he padded into the kitchen; Eddie was pouring drinks from a jug into two plastic tumblers; a sensible option since they were going outside.

 

“Gin and tonic good with you?” He asked.

 

Louis nodded and Eddie’s eyes drifted to him; roaming over his gown with a dirty tug of his lips.

 

“Let's get wet,” he said only, leading Louis outside.

 

//

 

 

The sun was only just setting when Eddie settled into the bubbling water with his drink; Louis setting the jug by the side and his own plastic cup, so he could unbelt the robe.

 

“Ooh, he’s getting naked,” Eddie teased from below.

 

“Fuck off,” Louis sighed, chucking the gown away and quickly rushing into the water. “I’m not a prude,” he argued.

 

Eddie giggled; eyes bright with amusement.

 

“You're not like the others,” he observed.

 

“No?” He mused, sliding onto the seating shelf beside the host; earning long fingers on his thigh to hold him steady while he reached for his gin.  “Don’t tell me they’re usually on their knees choking themselves on your dick in the studio foyer,” he derided.

 

Eddie hummed; sinking down into the water a bit after placing his empty tumbler to the side.

 

“Sorry to deflate your ego, Juliet.”

 

“We should _you know_. Get comfortable,” Eddie posed; glancing to Louis.

 

“I’m comfortable,” he promised, knocking back his drink. “I’m very comfortable. “

 

“But I mean if we—” Eddie twisted; the back of his hand brushing Louis' crotch. “I want to make sure you can get hard for me, love...”

 

Louis blinked; peering down at his lap. It didn’t take much to have him interested considering the art on the wall had done half of the work.

 

“Oh,” Eddie purred; curling closer and settling his hand around Louis' thigh loosely. “We don’t have any issues _there_ then...Didn’t need a stiff drink after all.”

 

Louis shifted his arm from where he'd propped his elbow on the patio ledge; fingers clasping the leg of his glasses to slip them off.

 

Eddies hand lifted to stop him; wet fingers circling his wrist.

 

“Leave them on,” he husked. “I like it.”

 

Louis stared at him; wishing for the first time in his history as a covert agent that Niall wasn’t getting to hear everything that he was. His button-hole camera had been removed with his t-shirt, but his audio set couldn’t be turned _off._

He just hoped Niall followed the code and ducked out for a few minutes.

 

“Yeah?” He cleared his throat. “You like the geek look?”

 

Eddie's lips twisted as his arm reached out to scoop Louis closer; curving their bodies together subtly.

 

“You’re not a geek,” Eddie told him.

 

Louis looked into his eyes; dark green in the failing sunlight; the coolness of the night air causing Eddie to shiver as the wet curls in his hair dripped onto his bare shoulders.

 

He had freckles on the bridge of his nose and sprinkled along the tops of his cheeks. He had curly lashes. His lips looked full; definitely looked fitting for his line of work although Louis didn’t remember seeing him _kiss_ his co-stars. Not on the mouth at least.

 

And he'd be the first guy that had filmed with Eddie, so they were both broaching new territory and actually—

 

 _Was it Eddie who was nervous?_ Was he worried about how he’d perform without _practice_? Louis hadn’t considered the need to _practice._

_Body model_ ; they’d said. That meant just laying there and looking good, right?

 

_What if it didn’t mean that at all?_

Louis tilted his head; considering the option to just kiss Eddie and give him what he was looking for. He let himself relax against him slightly; eyelids drifting shut.

 

“Love, it’s not that kind of movie,” Eddie's deep voice tugged him from his compliant pose.

 

Louis stared into his sparkling green eyes, not sure if he should be ashamed or not. All too quickly he became aware of Eddie’s hand; curved around his thigh, his thumb stroking with suggested sensuality just under his balls.

 

He swallowed; breath catching as the heavy pulse of his arousal filtered into his distracted mind and as suddenly as he'd opened his eyes, he realised he needed to _move_ before things got completely out of hand.

 

_Fuck._

_How did he do that?!_

Louis jerked, scooting away in the water as elegantly as he could manage as hard as he was; hand cupping his rigid length as he strode for the steps to exit the water; Eddie’s amused snort following him up.

 

“There’s a bathroom by the kitchen,” he called.

 

One last glance back showed Eddie propping his elbows on the patio behind him; legs spread and a smug smile warming his features.

 

Louis rushed inside before he could do any more damage.

 

//

 

“Fuck!” he hissed; bolting himself into the downstairs bathroom which was twice the size of the master bathroom in his own apartment.

 

It was tiled dark blue and fitted with pale blue ceramics; a large aquatic painting hanging on the wall.

 

The sweeping strokes reminded Louis too much of the painting in the lounge which had started his downfall into hedonism.

 

“Earth to Niall,” he hissed as he dried himself off hastily. “Fucking hell, where are you?”

 

“ _What's up, Tommo?_ ”

 

“What’s up?” He accused tartly. “I’ll tell you what’s up... my dick is up!”

 

“ _Yeah figured you needed a time out,_ ” Niall commented.

 

“You’re not helping, _Neil_ ,” Louis spat. “I got a fucking hard-on and that narcissistic bastard knows it!”

 

“ _Pretty sure that’s par for the course Tommo. What did you think would happen when you signed up to star in a porno?_ ”

 

“I thought I was investigating a possible paedophile!” Louis snapped; tugging on his clothes as quickly as his damp skin allowed. “I _thought_ I just had to lay there and look pretty while he jizzed on me.”

 

“ _Tommo, look_ ,” Niall soothed. “ _It’s not the first time you’ve got a stiffy on the job and it’s not gonna be the last. Who cares if that curly haired cunt saw you? You’ve got a nice dick. He should feel honoured.”_

 

Louis sighed; sagging with the weight of consequence; his clothes back in place except for his bandana which was still wrapped around the curls of the man he'd fled.

“Is this operation really necessary?” Louis asked quietly.  “Can’t we observe him twenty-four-seven?”

 

“Done that last year,” Niall shared. “That’s how we got the reports of this guy visiting schools on the regular. He’ll trip up sooner or later,” Niall promised. “Just try not to lose your cool until then.”

 

Louis took a deep breath and pushed his damp fringe back with the heel of his hand.

 

“That’s easy for you to say.”

 

“ _Mate I’d love it,_ ” Niall mused. “ _Free wanks from a guy with big hands? Yes please_...”

 

“Yes, thank you Neil, not sure that's entirely pro-"

 

A soft rap of knuckles against the wooden door had Louis pausing and looking up.

 

“You don’t have to be shy you know,” Eddie’s slightly slurred voice told him; a little deeper and slower than before.

 

Louis walked to the door and ripped it open; causing Eddie to stumble slightly where he'd apparently been leaning against the surface.

 

“I’m not,” he lifted his chin defiantly.

 

Eddie licked his lips; watching him cautiously as though he didn’t quite trust him. Louis sighed and rolled his eyes. _Right_. Newbie.

 

“ _Is_ it your first time?” Eddie asked.

 

“No,” Louis replied. “Wasn’t exactly planning for _that_ to happen though,” he mused.

 

“I was,” Eddie smirked and Louis almost wanted to slap him.

 

“Let’s just call it a night,” Louis suggested. “When's date two?”

 

Eddie counted on his fingers.

 

““Tomorrow?”

 

“Right, fine,” Louis nodded. “Can you call me a cab?”

 

“You can stay in the guest room you know,” Eddie called as he walked towards the kitchen and lifted a telephone handset from a cradle on the wall; pulling out the metal aerial before handing it to Louis.

 

Louis took the phone and asked for the operator; requesting a taxi firm once he got put through to switchboard.

 

“I should get home,” is what he told Eddie, shunting his glasses up his nose.

 

Eddie nodded; pursing his lips in a rueful fashion.

 

“I need to go to the waxing salon tomorrow,” he shared. “I’ll pick you up. Time and place?”

 

Louis had a location of a town house which the Bureau used for operations and technically he was meant to have moved a few things in just in case one of the crew wanted to come inside but Louis hadn’t quite gotten around to getting organised.

 

He mentally reprimanded himself for his lax approach once again and vowed to get his things together that night. Eddie would no doubt insist on coming in, he mused.

 

“I live at 212 Oberon Boulevard,” he relayed. “What time is your appointment?”

 

Eddie smiled smugly.

 

“Whatever time I walk in.”

 

“Of course,” Louis lamented. “Then I’ll see you when you're up,” he added.

 

“I’m always up,” Eddie lifted a brow. “Come and finish your drink before you leave, love.”

 

Louis went back to the kitchen.

 

//

 

The sound of a deep vibration had Louis peeking out of the ugly orange print curtains and into the street; the other houses set far back from the road and positioned to afford him privacy.

 

It was dusty inside and he'd only cleaned up the bedroom enough to sleep in it; the rest of the house not quite yet feeling like home.

 

A Harley Davidson motorcycle cruised slowly along the street; the rider wearing a gold glitter helmet and if Louis wasn’t going crazy; he had metallic gold heeled boots to match.

 

“What the fuck?” He murmured, eyes flaring as the motorcycle swooped around and headed back down; pulling up in the entrance to his drive. “Who the fuck-"

 

A long, lean, familiarly attractive body unfolded from the motorcycle; a black leather jacket unzipped and shucked off only to be folded and tucked under one arm whilst the helmet was pulled off smoothly and the coiffed hair of the rider tidied with ring-bedecked fingers.

 

“Eddie?” He whispered, stunned.

 

A silk shirt; also in gold tones, flapped excitedly in the breeze as the tall man made his way up the drive with an uncertain pout; the tips of his laurel tattoos flashing as the shirt rode up over his hips and licked at his belly.

 

Long fingers tried to tug the slippery fabric lower, but it was impossible to tame it; the ruffled neckline gaping to reveal most of his chest.

 

Louis couldn’t help the little kick of memory from the previous night; the warmth and touch of the man strolling towards his door and the heat that whipped quickly into his veins at the reminder.

 

“Fuck it all to hell,” he muttered to himself.

 

“ _Not again, Tommo?_ ” Niall snorted.

 

Louis snapped the curtain shut and headed for the door in his white jean shorts and embroidered denim shirt.

 

When he opened the door; the second before Eddie was due to knock judging by his suspended fist, his eyes fixed on the blue and white bandana tied around the belt loop of the flared black trousers that Eddie had chosen to wear with his gold ensemble.

 

Louis had to admit that Eddie’s slow smile had its appeal as far as greetings went.

 

“Hi, love,” the taller man smoothly rested his hand on the door frame to cover his aborted knock.

 

“Hello, Eddie,” Louis replied sourly, earning a grin.

 

“Can I see inside?” He asked, craning his neck to peek into the hallway.

 

Louis stepped forward to try and resist him.

 

“It’s a bit of a mess,” he admitted. “Just moved in, haven’t made it home yet...”

 

“Can I see?” Eddie asked again anyway.

 

Louis sighed and stepped back.

 

“Sure why not, Juliet,” he murmured as Eddie looked into his house.

 

“I could help you, you know,” Eddie’s voice echoed from the living room. “After we're done you know...getting waxed. “

 

He winked and the suggestion that waxing was remotely sexy had Louis staring at him hard.

 

“You mean you’re not too busy fucking your harem?” Louis enquired as he hovered in the doorway to the kitchen where Eddie had relocated, leaning against his counter comfortably.

 

“What about these worktops?” Eddie asked back; deflecting the accusation. “Sturdy enough to have little fun?”

 

“Think we had enough fun last night don’t you?” Louis called as he turned to head back to the front door.

 

“If you think last night is even halfway to where we need to be by Thursday then you’re in the wrong job,” Eddie told him seriously as he opened the front door.

 

Louis watched him walk through it with a sinking feeling that he was right.

 

 

//

 

The salon parlour was the gayest place Louis had spent time in; in his adult life. He may have come out at fifteen to exceptionally supportive parents but after he left college and started training for the Bureau; things changed.

 

He had to tuck the little flamboyant parts of himself away so that his colleagues couldn’t work it out and it was only since being partnered with Niall; a young and impressive statistics agent; that Louis had felt comfortable enough to share his secret.

 

And he had to admit that he'd expected Eddie to take him to some air-conditioned, glass and mirrored high-class salon on Sunset with slim blonde attendants and another _Connie_ to rile him up.

 

It was a surprising pleasure to be thrust into a hot and noisy work room full of loud, colourful characters; each of them with their own signature style whether it be wigs or shoes or just the impeccable clothes draped on their bodies. Louis felt very much at home as a large-framed man stooped to hug him.

 

“You’re absolutely precious,” he simpered.  “ _Completely_ darling!”

 

Louis grasped his elbows as the stranger cupped his face in smooth large hands.

 

“I’m Diamond,” the man introduced. “Eddie told me _all_ about you.”

 

“Oh,” Louis’ eyes flicked to the taller man who was already being encouraged to try on a rainbow-striped wig and a pair of star-framed sunglasses.

 

“Can I call you Buttercup?” Diamond asked.

 

“What do you call Eddie?” He wondered.

 

Diamond's gaze shifted to the younger man now playing air-guitar and swishing his hair back and forth as he made twanging guitar-noises. Louis rolled his eyes and focused on the big man on front of him.

 

He could be the ring leader of a peodophile ring for all he knew. He'd do well to find out more.

 

“He’s a Sunflower,” Diamond answered him. “Don't you agree?”

 

Diamond’s shrewd brown gaze settled on him; surprisingly assessing.

 

“I think he’s more of a rhododendron;” Louis remarked. “Never quite sure what he’s going to be today, blue or pink,” he smiled innocently.

 

Diamond laughed heartily at that.

 

“Oh, where did you find him?” He asked Eddie. “Are there any more?”

 

Eddie put down the broom he'd commandeered for guitar-playing and waltzed over.

 

“I haven’t asked him.”

 

“You haven’t-" Diamond tutted, looking back at Louis. “Do you have any siblings, Buttercup?”

 

Louis considered lying but didn’t see any reason to. Even if Diamond turned out to be the shocking King Pin of a child porn gang then him pretending to be an only child wouldn’t stop a criminal with that kind of power from delving onto his personal life should he be found out.

 

“A shit load, actually,” he smiled wanly.

 

“Any brothers?” Diamond winked.

 

Louis couldn’t help his smile.

 

“None over the age of consent,” he quipped, sliding a look to Eddie. “Not that you’d mind...”

 

Eddie turned on his heel and went back to the wig counter; wrapping a small, dark Asian man into his arms.

 

“Who's that?” Louis asked out loud.  

 

“That’s Zayn,” Diamond answered without looking. “Eddie’s regular,” he added softly.

 

Louis snapped his gaze to the older man. Regular _what_? Lover? Waxing agent?

 

“Don’t worry my little Buttercup,” Diamond grasped his arm. “He’s very loyal, he won’t betray you.”

 

Louis snorted.

 

“Loyal, my ass. He sleeps with anything that moves,” he muttered mostly to himself.

 

Louis didn’t realise Diamond had moved to stand beside him until his voice startled him.

 

“It’s not what you think,” He murmured.  “They were lovers, but Eddie had to give him up. You’re his type you know,” he winked. “Small and feisty.”

 

Louis' eyes drifted back to the man that was now perched in Eddie's lap as they shared a leather hair-styling seat; his wiry arms linked around Eddie’s neck as they smiled at each other and occasionally kissed each other's cheek.

 

Zayn- the man Eddie had had a long-term physical relationship with- was stunningly handsome. He had a scruffy beard and long, shiny, tousled hair that framed beautiful brown eyes; thick brows and dark lashes adding something inexplicably eastern.

 

Those warm brown eyes soon sought Louis out; his thin frame leaping from the chair to approach Louis with a kind smile.

 

“Eddie says you’re his latest boy,” Zayn greeted him, as if testing the truth of his friend's statement.

 

Louis glanced at Eddie who was now being pampered by Diamond; having his hair washed.

 

“I guess you could say that,” Louis swallowed.

 

Zayn sized him up; gaze going over him carefully.

 

“Not just _anyone_ can date him you know.”

 

Louis nodded, gaze cool.

 

“I know,” he mused; thinking _how did he do it? How did this guy keep Eddie’s attention for long enough to bed him more than once? He must be a panther in bed._

“Not sure you’ve got what it takes,” Zayn challenged quietly.

 

Louis looked across the room at Eddie again; a deep dimpled smile taking over most of his face as Diamond massaged his scalp.

 

His hands were folded over his ribs; the gold shirt slipping away to show a flash of his belly button and his gold boots settled squarely on the foot-rest underneath.

 

Louis looked at the man in front of him and realised that these people were Eddie’s family. Diamond was his mother; Zayn an older brother and no doubt others would come forth who Louis would build into the picture that made up Eddie Twist.

 

For now, he knew that none of these people were involved in any black-market filth and he let out a breath of relief at that knowledge.

 

“Maybe I don’t,” Louis agreed quietly with Zayn’s statement; looking around the room again before he turned; settling on the doorstop outside the shop to watch the world drift by.

 

//

 

“Are you getting waxed or what?” Eddie's commanding tones brought Louis to his feet.

 

“Since it’s obligatory,” Louis lamented.

 

“We can lay side by side and scream together. It’ll be a run-through for Thursday,” he smirked.

 

Louis couldn’t help his decisive snort.

 

“You should be screaming in pleasure, not pain,” he hoped. “Unless I’ve lost my touch,” he murmured under his breath.

 

Eddie gave him an unreadable look as they settled on the massage benches.

 

“Easy on my thighs, Ruby,” Eddie told the shy girl with the plait who entered the room. “Will has been at me with his stubble...”

 

“What fucking stubble?” Louis popped his head up to defend himself. “I’m smoother than your ass, thank you very much...”

 

“Have you been sneaking peeks at my peach?” Eddie accused. “Tut tut, Willy.”

 

“You have the thing on show in tight pants most of the time, how can I miss it?” He huffed, ducking his head into the hole as Diamond floated into the room.

 

Louis tensed as hot wax was smeared over his ass-cheeks. A cloth strip was firmly smoothed over the sticky residue and then swiftly ripped away; causing him to flinch.

 

“Fuck me!”

 

“I would if you’d let me,” Eddie piped up; knees bent and feet dangling as his own ass was waxed in the same fashion.

 

He looked the tiniest bit disgruntled when the cloth was yanked away, a dirty smirk replacing the look thereafter.

 

“You know what they say about on-screen couples don't you?” Louis gritted his teeth as the wax was smeared deeper into the cleft of his ass. “Fu-bastard,” he hissed, yelping.

 

“That they lose the chemistry on screen if they fuck in real life,” Eddie supplied. “But Will, we’ve got chemistry in spades.  You despise me enough to make a plethora of movies; meanwhile we could be enjoying the benefits of your hatred...”

 

Louis wished he wasn’t _actually_ considering his suggestion but something about pretty tattooed leaves licking over smooth; delicate hips had him fixated on the possibility that angry sex could be a _thing._

 

“What happened with Zayn?” He asked instead, lifting his head from the hole to look over at Eddie.

 

He was on his back now; a grimace marring his features as Ruby stroked his chest. He lifted her hand and mumbled at her to “get on with it" before he noticed Louis looking.

 

“It didn’t work out,” he replied smoothly. “Are you jealous again, kitten? Don’t worry you’re the only one for me...”

 

Diamond winked at Louis in a way that would have been reassuring. _If Louis was actually his new boyfriend._ Which he _wasn’t. Shit._

“Don’t call me kitten.”

 

“His name is Buttercup,” Diamond added.

 

“I like kitten,” Eddie decided.

 

“Don’t call me k--"

 

“All done,” Diamond patted Louis’ shoulder tenderly. “There’s showers through there,” he pointed to the changing room Louis had come from.

 

“Oh, wait for me,” Eddie rumbled, rolling off his bench with a paused grimace before he followed Louis into the changing room.

 

//

 

“You knew there was only one shower,” Louis accused flatly as Eddie crowded into the cubicle with him; his long arms and legs taking up too much space.

 

“Don’t worry if you get turned on again,” Eddie murmured.  “Good to know I’m doing my job.”

 

Louis rolled his eyes; both hands cupped around his manhood even though he’d kept his boxer briefs on.

 

“Shy, sweetheart?” Eddie’s lips quirked smugly.

 

“This is a lethal weapon,” Louis dipped his chin to indicate his groin. “Has to be kept wrapped up.”

 

Eddie's eyes darkened with something like challenge.

 

“Shame. I’d quite like to load that gun,” he murmured.

 

“Just because you strip for a job doesn’t mean you have to be naked all the time,” Louis fidgeted while he waited for the water to slew down on them; the flow hitting Eddie's back and bouncing off him in wet sparks.

 

He straightened up with a slow tug of his lips into a lazy grin.

 

“I like being naked.”

 

Louis licked his wet lips; forcing his eyes to fix anywhere but between Eddie’s thighs but it was an impossible task when the man decided to lift his arms and shampoo his newly cut hair. Louis honestly couldn’t tell the difference; only a smidge had been trimmed off.

 

Eddie's dick was—

 

Well it was big. It was long and absurdly pretty for a penis. Penises were often ugly and crooked or cushioned on uneven balls. Eddie could boast having the prettiest dick Louis had seen. He could also boast having the biggest. He'd removed his body hair to leave his skin smooth, but it made his shaft appear longer and thicker and it was hard to look away. It made him worry about his own dick; whether Eddie would find his body attractive or not. Maybe Eddie didn't care, maybe he was just picking up his pay packet no matter who he fucked.

 

Louis knew they’d already told him he wasn’t going _all the way,_ but he wanted to tell Eddie;

 

“I don’t bottom.”

 

The confession paused Eddie from his hair-lather. He ducked his head under the spray and stared at Louis as he reached for the body wash. The trail of shampoo foam dribbled from his hair over his shoulders and onto his chest; diverting between his pecs as a valley formed there with his movement.

 

“Scared?” He smirked, but it was gentle and in the very sweetest way; kind of teasing.  Like he might know a thing or two about apprehension when it came to his size.

 

“No, I just—I like to top,” he murmured.

 

Louis went to push up his glasses and remembered he’d taken them off to shower.

 

“Thought they employed you to be a twink,” Eddie chuckled.

 

Louis shrugged.

 

“Guess I need the money.”

 

Eddie looked at him for a moment longer before squeezing out the body wash.

 

“C'mere, kitten...”

 

“Don’t call me--"

 

“C'mere, Buttercup,” Eddie purred; shifting the four inches it took to soap up Louis' skin; starting with his arms. “This okay?” He asked in a soft; deep voice that Louis was sure didn’t belong to the confident youngster he was getting to know.

 

And he _shouldn’t_ be ok. He shouldn’t be okay with it _at all_. But there was something inexplicably alluring about the man who had his hands on him; asking him for permission to _touch._ A far cry from the arrogance of their first meeting.

 

There was no harm in indulging for a moment, surely? He’d have to get washed either way, he might as well get some perks from being forced into this. _Might as well._

 

Louis let out a breath; tilting his chin up to rasp out a weak; _yeah_ , that Eddie smiled at.

 

“Told you that you’re a kitten;” he mumbled. “Love the fuss, hmm?”

 

Louis made a conscious effort to lift his lashes; not to repel Eddie's claim but to shuffle closer so that Eddie's big hands would span his back.

 

So often he was the guy in danger’s way; he was the one fronting up to guards and criminals and bare-faced lying to save his own skin.

 

Yet every time he looked into Eddie’s eyes; the pretty green galaxies drew him into their orbit and the pull he managed to resist whilst fully-clothed seemed to melt away when their clothes were missing.

 

“Is that the secret to shutting you up?” One of Eddie’s hands circled his back leisurely; the other cupping his ass cheek and gripping the bottle at the same time.

 

Louis sighed and hummed; folding himself into Eddie’s chest.

 

“You going to be this sweet in two days time?” Eddie teased, massaging his fingertips gently into the meat of his ass. The bottle slid nicely against his skin, so Louis didn’t have the courage to request it be given up.

 

His skin smarted after being accosted by the wax strips and the plastic felt cool and smooth as it slipped against the wet jersey fabric of his shorts.

 

Would Eddie tug down his shorts if he asked him to? Or was it a journey he’d take naturally without prompting? The fact Louis wanted to know the answer should have been a signal to stop whatever they were doing right there.

 

Louis parted his lips; tongue flicking out to lick away the water spray; to form his mouth into the required shapes to—

 

Eddie's fingertips dug under his boxers-band, a throaty “Hmm?” drawn coarsely from his throat.

 

Louis shifted as the cool bottle poked into the back of his shorts.

 

“Hey, where you going with that?” Louis stirred from his heady slumber to ask.

 

“Right here," Eddie answered; applying pressure to part his cheeks with the rounded shape. The bottle glided down his cheek towards his cleft.

 

Louis gasped a bit, pushing on to his tiptoes at the sensation and then letting out a quiet moan as he pushed back for more of the smooth coolness against his sore rim.

 

Eddie's fingers trailed along his shoulder; unlocking Louis' arm from where it rested against his chest; stretching it out to coax it around his neck. Louis followed the silent request; folding his arms and standing on tiptoe to give himself over to the pleasure that Eddie was affording him.

 

He could feel the pulsing heat of him; branding his hip as Eddie's lips brushed his forehead with muttered words; but Louis needed _more_ to free himself from the hex that Eddie had placed him under.

 

The consideration of _consequence_ was fleeting. He pressed back against the bottle and earned a throaty agreement from Eddie who obliged his silent request; tilting the object to grind it against his rim.

 

The lid was rippled; the tip disappearing between Louis' cheeks as he gave himself up to the moment; his responsibilities forgotten in the overwhelming haze of Eddie's influence.

 

“That’s all you needed;” Eddie’s deep voice purred as he spanned his hand over the dip in his spine to gain traction to rub against Louis a little; covering his gasp with a low groan. “Just a little soap and water...”

 

The ribbed bottle top stroked between his slippery cheeks; pressing suggestively against his rim and circling slowly to build up a throbbing want.

 

But Louis _didn’t_ want. _Did he?_ He’d never wanted it before. He’d never—

 

He quickly stepped away, stumbling as his heel caught the edge of the shower tray and Eddie’s arms wrapped him up; the young man's pulse throbbing as harshly as Louis’.

 

“Think you might be telling lies,” Eddie accused as he pulled away, unashamedly letting his semi-hard dick wave about aimlessly.

 

Louis blinked; heart stopping.

 

“I-"

 

“You _do_ like to bottom,” Eddie said smugly before he let Louis go to step out of the shower; his broad shoulders and glistening happy trail staying in Louis' mind for a long time after he left.

 

//

 

“You’re not twelve inches,” Louis chose to throw out as they stood six feet apart, browsing the Adult Entertainment section of the video store.

 

It was hidden behind drawn black velvet curtains; a red-light bulb casting a seedy feel to the back room which had a draught.

 

Louis shivered; his shorts not quite standing up to the breeze.

 

Eddie's fingers paused as he tilted a video case out of the shelf; resuming after a split second to slide the video out fully.

 

“Here’s one of mine. King Dong.”

 

“Did you get named before or after that movie?” Louis wondered.

 

“After.  It just kind of stuck.”

 

“But you’re not twelve inches,” Louis stated again, insistently.

 

He thought he caught Eddie huffing quietly; wondered if he made out the mocking tilt of his head while he mouthed unspoken words.

 

“You’re right,” he finally pinned Louis with his uncertain look. “But I’m near.”

 

“Bit disappointed to be honest,” Louis joked. “I was expecting foot long. You told me foot long...”

 

“It’s not like you’re taking my dick anyway,” Eddie argued. “Why do you care?”

 

“Does ten inches really qualify you for the title King Dong?” Louis asked.  “More like Average Dong.”

 

Eddie snorted; his eyes sweeping over Louis' crotch.

 

“You're not hitting average then,” he smirked. “Maybe we can call you Shorty...”

 

Louis stalked up to him and snatched the case out if his hand.

 

“It’s what you do with it, right, Sunflower?”

 

“I mean if you can even feel it’s _there,_ ” Eddie retorted as Louis glared at him with glacial eyes.

 

“Whose idea was this anyway?” He demanded as he swept the curtain back to stalk towards the till.

 

“Mine,” Eddie floated behind him. “Thought it'd help you, see? Since you're hell bent on going into this a pristine princess.”

 

Louis rolled his eyes as he paid for the items; the shop assistant glancing between the case and the man beside Louis with slow curiosity.

 

“It’s not him,” Louis smiled wanly. “I’ve seen his dick and he’s not packing what King Dong does...”

 

Eddie pouted; fingers coursing through his naturally-dried curls; the fuzziness something that Louis couldn’t help letting his gaze drift towards.

 

“I know my hair is wild, but you don’t have to stare,” Eddie mumbled.

 

“Shouldn’t have called me Shorty,” Louis stuck his nose in the air and marched out.

 

//

Eddie put something in his hair that made it look soft and glistening; the curls gentle and tamed into sweet waves and pretty flicks. At his neck; small tendrils urged to spiral tightly And Eddie's fingers seemed to twist those undone; fiddling with the natural curl of his hair until he gave up with a defeated sigh.

 

He settled in the corner of the large white couch; the TV screen taking up residence on the wall; the latest model  that only the rich could afford.

 

Without his boots and his fancy satin shirt, Eddie looked different. He'd kept his flares on but changed into a white vest; the soft ribbed jersey fabric clinging to him gently.

 

His fingers were long. Louis couldn't help noticing that and the way they artfully fluttered as he murmured something to himself; brows drawing together with the tiniest of furrows as his lips pressed together in deep thought.

 

If Louis didn’t know better he’d say they were watching a DIY programme or something about the complexities of natural birth.

 

“I mean; do you want to take notes?” Louis asked, avoiding looking at the screen.

 

Eddie started; as if forgetting Louis was there entirely.

 

“ _You’re_ the newbie,” Eddie retorted. “Maybe _you_ should be taking notes...or measurements,” he added quietly as an insult.

 

“Pretty sure I don’t need to see you fucking a woman to learn anything new. And we both know guys are better at giving head.”

 

“Well there’s this thing I do with my tongue,” Eddie argued. “You’re missing it.”

 

Louis heard the excited breathy gasps of the female on the screen and rolled his eyes.

 

“Not going to beat getting a blowjob from a guy with a tongue stud,” Louis smirked.

 

Eddie; who had been surreptiously knocking back a beer from a long-necked bottle; choked on the liquid and jerked forward to thump himself on the chest.

 

“Duly noted,” He managed amidst his coughing fit, sliding a sly look Louis’ way when he recovered.

 

“What?” Louis frowned, annoyed.

 

“Nothing,” Eddie claimed innocently. “You should really look at the screen you know. So that you can see what angles you need to be at and stuff. I might be a professional, but I can’t turn you into a miracle overnight…”

 

Louis turned his face towards the film only to prove to Eddie that he _could._ He might need to wash his eyes out with bleach after being tortured with the sight of the man beside him sticking his dick into a female; but he wasn’t one to back down from a challenge easily.

 

And actually-

 

 _Fuck_.

 

Eddie looked really fucking good on screen. His skin glistened; tanned and smooth and muscular in a soft but strong way; thighs flexing as he knelt between the female star’s legs; arms taut as he reached up to touch her. Louis couldn’t help but be reminded of the way Eddie had touched _him._

 

He clenched his ass muscles as the sensation of the bottle-lid rushed back over his skin; the deep throaty sounds of Eddie’s pleasure on-screen a loud echo of the soft, breathy words Louis remembered from the shower. And he was watching the screen _avidly_ when his body reacted to the sight of Eddie’s long, broad tongue flicking out; looping to dip and then fluttering quickly after. Because he could imagine that tongue exacting all kinds of pleasurable damage. He could-

 

He paused, something puzzling him as he noticed a faint hint of a dark shadow on Eddie's tongue that looked oh-so-familiar and he almost jolted in surprise at the realisation.

 

“You’ve got a pierced tongue,” Louis stated.

 

Eddie lifted his bottle to his lips and ran his tongue around the very edge of the opening; laying his tongue flat to receive the beer.

 

“Hmm?”

 

Louis bit his lip; blood thudding hard around his body as his lap grew far more interested than it ought to be in the whereabouts of Eddie’s tongue. The man was a possible paedophile. He could be responsible for thousands of children being manipulated and abused. Louis had no right to disregard that possibility in favour of his gut-feeling. Or the seduction technique of a porn-star for that matter.

 

His lap didn’t seem to agree.

 

“Show me your tongue,” Louis demanded.

 

Eddie smiled sweetly.

 

“Sorry, Willy, what did you say?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“Your tongue.” He repeated flatly.

 

“Is currently licking out the very beautiful Sharon,” Eddie supplied, pointing at the screen with the finger he uncurled from his hold on the bottle.

 

Louis wasn’t brave enough to search where his other hand was placed.

 

“I’m already traumatised by the straight sex,” he quipped. “Just fucking show me your tongue.”

 

Eddie wrapped his tongue around the neck of his bottle with lit-up eyes; slipping the neck between his lips to hollow his cheeks out as he sucked it into the recess of his mouth. Louis felt the burn across his cheeks as well as the swell in his jeans; forcing him to look away. Eddie’s throaty, warm chuckle sent a shiver down his spine.

 

“I don’t wear the stud,” he answered softly, voice deep as he hummed.

 

Louis glanced over; eyes unable to avoid the magnetic pull of Eddie’s body; gaze pooling between his thighs where Eddie’s left hand magically appeared; fingers tracing his rigid length through the velvet of his flares.

 

“What, is that too sensual for porn?” Louis mused.

 

“Porn isn’t just about fucking you know…” Eddie slurred, eyelids drooping as he drove the heel of his hand over himself with a frustrated, kitten-like whine.

 

Louis snorted.

 

“Kind of is, _Heddie_ …”

 

Eddie glared at him.

 

“What did you call me?”

 

“Heddie,” Louis smiled. “Since you’re such an expert at giving head.”

 

Eddie plonked his bottle on the coffee-table heavily; twisting to narrow his eyes at Louis.

 

“I’ve fucked plenty of men, alright? Just not like this,” he flattened his hand to chop it sharply toward the screen where Sharon was screaming out; the sex-noise messing with Louis’ body if he let it. He tried to block it out.

 

“There was me thinking your dick was seasoned,” Louis accused lightly. “Guess I was wrong.”

 

“Guess you were,” Eddie shot back, flopping back into the sofa with a huff.

 

Louis ignored him for a full minute until the rhythmic movement in the corner of his vision had him snapping his gaze back to the other man.

 

“Are you getting off to your own dick?”

 

Eddie’s dirty smirk said _hell yeah,_ but his eyes dropped to Louis' lap and his lips said;

 

“No, I’m getting off to yours…”

 

He trailed his tongue along the inside of his cheek suggestively; lathing it over his upper lip slowly as Louis’ eyes focused, right there, on his plump, red mouth.

 

“Want a hand?” Eddie asked, lifting one brow delicately with a hint of a smug smile tugging at his lips.

 

“Fuck you,” Louis cast, pulsing hot and hard and annoyed that he couldn’t do anything about it.

 

“Kinda just about to,” Eddie bit his lower lip; fingers sliding up the teeth of his zipper to grasp the pull; tugging at it until it gave way to the bulge throbbing beneath it. “Wanna see how it’s done?”

 

Louis thrust to his feet; desperate to get away before he burst in his own pants. He’d be too ashamed to ever face Eddie again and he hadn’t even _started_ his real work, yet. He could be there for _months_ trying to figure out the real criminal. _Because it couldn’t be Eddie._

Sitting there; eyes blazing with arousal; body flushed with it and beautifully, achingly hard with it; Louis couldn’t see how that man; that utter temptress, could possibly be involved in anything as debauched as he looked now; fingers tight and pumping his own hard dick while his dark eyes stayed steady on Louis’ face; almost seeking his approval.

 

“Like that, Will?” He choked as his hips jerked upwards; hand shifting to switch angle.

 

Louis palmed himself; squeezing his eyes shut to draw in a deep and fortifying breath. He couldn’t stay there. He couldn’t wait a minute longer. He turned; forcing his eyes open to carry his stumbling feet across the bare wood floor towards the doorway.

 

He was chased by Eddie’s breathy, moaning laughter.

 

“Clean up after yourself!”

 

Louis made it into the cool, quiet bathroom and slammed the door shut; dropping to his knees on the soft, looped thread rug.

 

“Fuck,” he hissed; unfastening his jeans and yanking them down to get a hand on himself. “Oh f-fuck!” He gasped as he spurted then and there; less than two seconds of contact before he came in thick, heavy flushes onto the rug.

 

“ _Base to Tommo_ ,” Niall’s scratchy voice sounded in his ear. “ _Tell me you didn’t just jizz all over his fucking carpet_ …”


	3. Chapter 3

“Isn’t there anyone else who can do this job?”

 

Louis was back at HQ; back in his uniform and minus his glasses. His hair wasn’t combed and he’d grown out his stubble for the last twelve hours just because.

 

Niall slid him a bemused look.

 

“You’re already in, Lou. Think King Dick might notice if we swap you out for Mulholland. “

 

“I thought you said he wasn’t an option,” Louis accused. “He’s way more twink than me. Anyway... King Dickhead hates me.”

 

“Not being funny but the guy gave you a boner twice. Not sure that’s hating on you, Lou...”

 

Louis glared at his colleague.

 

“It’s the fact I keep springing a boner at all that has me _convinced_ he hates me.”

 

“You're doing the springing all on your own, Tommo,” Niall added.  “It’s not like he’s got his hand down your trousers.”

 

Louis flicked his eyes away; his mind immediately returning to the shower where Eddie had most _definitely_ had his hands down Louis' pants. Not necessarily on his _dick_ but...

 

“Yeah, so I'm like...a threat to the investigation,” Louis latched onto the possibility of an out.  “Unprofessional conduct.”

 

“Sorry buddy,” Niall shook his head; fiddling with the radio sets he had in pieces on his desk. “You’ll just have to keep your dick in order until you’ve caught him red handed.”

 

“When’s the hearing?”

 

“End of the month,” Niall shared. “Hang in there for three more weeks until we hear his defence.  Get as much on him as you can...” Niall snorted; seguing into loud crackles.

 

“Well not your jizz,” he giggled. “Don’t get _that_ on him. Not unless you like...want to,” he waggled his brows.

 

“Oh, go and cook your chicken, Horan,” Louis tutted; kicking his feet off the desk he’d had them rested on while he reclined in the office chair. “I’m going to do some research.”

 

“Don’t forget to look up his dick!” Niall yelled as Louis slammed the office door behind him.

 

//

 

Louis hadn’t found much on Ben Winston. There was even less on Eddie other than the facts they already knew.

 

His real name was Harry Edward Styles. His porn-name was his middle name and his step-dad's surname. His father was the very important Vice President of The United States of America who had disowned him at the tender age of nine when he’d divorced his mother, Anne.

 

Anne had died of an overdose when Eddie... _Harry_...was fifteen and soon after that he'd started in film. Mediocre home movies at first; mostly dark or shaky cam-corder work.

 

But when he’d signed his first deal with Bare Faced Cheek Pictures, his on-screen charisma had flourished. Eddie was born to entertain.

 

Louis couldn’t help the flicker of concern that dogged him as he popped open the passenger door of the Sedan that Eddie had picked him up in.

 

Eddie had told him he had an errand to run; an errand which just so happened to require parking up a block before the All Saints School for Orphans.

 

Louis didn’t yet know what Eddie's connection was with those kids, but he wasn’t about to let him sneak about without some kind of back up.

 

He stretched beside the car subtly and lofted the door shut, setting off down the sidewalk to search out his porn star.

 

Which took his mind back to his worrying thoughts.

 

Eddie wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t ugly and he wasn’t lacking for being engaging and sharp.  So why had he chosen the porn industry as his route for success? His dick couldn’t be his only talent. Louis couldn’t imagine a politician bringing up his child to believe that nothing else mattered other than the way he looked and how good he was in bed.

 

That mentality was the _opposite_ of a candidate of Senate.

 

_Or was it?_

Louis slipped his hands into his jeans shorts pockets and took them out again to flick up the collar of his lemon-yellow shirt; the white piping around the edges of the cuffs and yoke a throwback to the last decade, perhaps but Louis had always preferred the sixties.

 

Being a teenager in the decade where the concept of free love was being borne he knew from experience that there wasn’t much innocence left in the world. The extremes of hedonism were threatening to bring humanity crashing down and contributed to the dark crime underworld he fought against every day. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Senate was involved in warfare and sexual exploitation.

 

Porn today, pistol fights tomorrow.

 

He jolted as a hand clasped his shoulder.

 

_Eddie?_

“Fuck, you could have just--" Louis stopped speaking as he twisted; very definitely _not Eddie_ coming into focus.

 

An LA beat cop gave him the once-over, stocky and well built; far more muscular than Louis could ever hope to be. Louis didn’t have Niall to back him up this time; he didn’t have HQ support at all, thanks to a mass shooting in New York City that had pulled all of the FBI Officers away to catch the perpetrators.

 

That left Louis staring at the cop hoping he could handle him alone.

 

“Don’t I know you?” The officer asked.

 

And _oh fuck._

_He did._ This guy knew Louis from a knife-crime info session he’d run about two years ago while taking a break from undercover cases.

 

“Nah, not me, buddy,” Louis smiled sweetly.

 

Officer Dean Shaw tilted his head and wrapped his fingers around his thick leather belt; the move tightening the fabric of his navy uniform around his biceps and across his chest. Louis tried not to smirk at the memory of Dean winking at him as he tried to deliver the very serious topic of how to treat knife-wounds.

 

“I remember you,” he narrowed his eyes with a faint smile.

 

Louis swallowed, eyes flicking about to check who was nearby; to see if the soft, muted raspberry pink of Eddie's flares were anywhere in sight.

 

“Er, I’m on a job,” Louis broached carefully. “You know,” he winked but it was tense and the furthest thing from flirty.

 

Dean's eyebrows lifted with realisation.

 

“Oh! So, I finally get to meet you in a casual capacity,” he smiled. “Not all teacher-student like before...”

 

Louis pursed his lips and let his warm smile brighten his face.

 

“Yeah, I remember you too,” he offered. “Top of the class...”

 

Dean stepped forward a bit.

 

“Oh yeah? Want me to cart you off in the wagon?” He asked, jerking his chin towards the parked police car a few feet away.

 

“What're you here for?” Louis wondered.

 

Before Dean could reply, Eddie's voice cut down the sidewalk to interrupt their moment.

 

“Oh, Mr. Officer! He’s with me!” Eddie sang out.

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“He’s not arresting me, Heddie,” Louis accused as the other man joined them.

 

Eddie’s eyes swept over Louis first; lingering between his thighs with a barely noticeable twitch of his lips. It was noticeable enough for Louis’ dick to twitch back.

 

“No?” Eddie enquired; gaze drawn to the muscled man. “Then what _is_ going on?”

 

“I thought he looked a bit like Freddie,” Louis supplied with a smirk.

 

He remembered Dean putting on his mirrored aviators when they'd--- _Fuck._ He glanced away, biting his lip to curb his smile.

 

Eddie was looking at him with a strange expression; brows furrowed.

 

“Who’s Freddie?”

 

Louis snorted, knocking his chin up to look at Eddie down his nose.

 

“Mercury,” he replied flatly. “You know like in the video with the cop uniform and he--"

 

“I know,” Eddie snapped, almost sulkily if Louis could imagine it. He rolled his eyes as Eddie’s eyes brightened and he twisted towards Dean in a favourable pose; hip jutted out. “Hello there,” he beamed.

 

“Hi,” Dean nodded.

 

“Is that a truncheon in your pocket or...”

 

Dean threw his head back in a hearty chuckle; his ease with Eddie’s flirting drawing Louis' shrewd gaze away from the waif and towards the cop.

 

“I’ll leave the king-sized truncheons to you,” Dean mused.

 

“Going to take me away, Officer?” Eddie batted his lashes. “Can I try the cuffs? I kind of like being tied up..."  


Dean glanced down to his belt and flashed the shiny clean cuffs in the sunlight.

 

“Only for official use,” he promised.

 

“Well I got arrested for being stood on a sidewalk last time so...” Eddie smiled wanly, smoothly sliding his palm onto Dean’s arm. “Feel free to take me away.”

 

Louis cleared his throat, face carefully set in a carefree mask; eyes dark as he watched the exchange.

 

“Shouldn’t we be going?” He asked.

 

Eddie didn’t even turn to glance at him. Instead his fingers slid down Dean’s arm to tug at the cuffs looped through his belt.

 

“They’re not very fluffy.  Maybe next time, hmm?”

 

Dean gave him a warm smile and stepped away a bit to wave them off.

 

“Stay out of trouble, King,” he winked and earned a delighted skip from Eddie who pretended to catch a kiss and twisted his body to show in undeniable detail how he saved it by slipping it into the pocket on his trousers that sat directly over his ass cheek.

 

Eddie merely smiled at Louis.

 

“Be nice to the Officer,” he murmured, and Louis gave Dean one last nod before he turned to follow Eddie back to the car.

 

//

 

“Told you to stay in the car,” Eddie grumbled as he pulled the starter switch.

 

Louis caught his side-long look; wary eyes and shaky breath in. Like he was worried Louis might have seen something. Like he was suspicious as to Louis' motives for getting out.

 

“Never do what I’m told, me,” he sat straight and puffed his chest out proudly.

 

Eddie's fingers caressed the leather surface of the steering wheel; wrapping around it sensuously. Louis didn’t realise he'd procured a rolled cigarette from somewhere.

 

_Hopefully not the orphanage._

“Never?” Eddie glanced over as they stopped for a red light, picking up his lighter from the console. He poked the roll up between his lips and sucked until it lit; a cloud of smoke mushrooming in the car.

 

Louis eyed the spliff cautiously.

 

“I’m usually the one giving orders,” Louis replied easily.

 

“Oh, _bossy_ ,” Eddie nodded with another draw on the joint. “Makes up for being tiny, hmm?”

 

Louis snorted.

 

“Who said I'm tiny? I’m five foot nine, you know.”

 

Eddie glanced at him; sober for three seconds until his eyes shone with amusement and a sweet giggle spilled through his lips.

 

Louis tutted.

 

“What the fuck was that, Styles?”

 

Eddie froze, body rigid as he swallowed, eyes pinned to the road. The air went cold and still and Louis wanted to sink through his seat and travel the rest of the journey from underneath the car. Being dragged on the ground perhaps. _Shit._

 

“That’s not my name,” Eddie said in a stiff, tight voice.

 

Louis nodded, keeping it light.

 

“You sharing that joint or what?” He added after a too-quiet moment.

 

Eddie stared at him; eyes digging into his soul to rifle around for any sordid remains which might put Louis in his place. Louis didn’t take the victory with sadistic pleasure this time. He looked back at the young man searching for something; if only he knew _what_ that something was.

 

“Here,” Eddie thrust the spliff his way. “You can finish it, it’s giving me a bad buzz any way...”

 

Louis took the joint and inhaled.

 

“Let’s find you some proper drugs to cheer you up then,” he smirked, waggling his brows. “Let’s get wild.”

 

Eddie chucked out a disbelieving but amused breath and rolled his eyes; pulling away from another stop light they’d been paused at.

 

“I should give you weed more often.”

 

//

 

Louis didn’t expect Eddie to take him back to the salon.

 

He also expected to wait in the car like the teenaged kid of a bad parent; strapped in and bored out of his brains.

 

But when Eddie killed the motor he looked over.

 

“I’m getting an exfoliation and a tan really quick,” he shared.

 

Louis nodded.

 

“Go for it. I’ve got a natural tan.”

 

“No white bits?” Eddie's brow rose as his gaze dipped to Louis' thighs.

 

Louis smiled wanly.

 

“You mean you’ve forgotten already? So many willing recipients of your king size dick that us little people just get lost in the sea of orgasmic faces?”

 

Eddie rolled his eyes; a habit that Louis couldn’t help thinking had been picked up from him.

 

“Actually, _your_ face stands out, Willy,” Eddie mused. “I’m yet to inspire an orgasm...”

 

Louis blinked and looked away quickly; earning spluttered laughter from beside him and the backs of Eddie's fingers against his arm.

 

“I mean; like, in front of me that is...”

 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Heddie,” Louis hissed.

 

He only earned a snort in return.

 

“Come on, love,” Eddie popped his door and shifted to get out.

 

//

 

“He’s pink by the way...”

 

Louis swallowed; gaze lifting towards Diamond who swept into the room with two cups of tea.

 

Eddie had insisted that Louis keep him company whilst Ruby massaged fake tan into his skin. The fact he had to be completely naked was surely his only motive so that he could torture Louis.

 

Louis wondered if giving in would work. Was Eddie the kind of guy that once you submitted to him; he’d be kind? Would he let you get off to the _thought_ of him only, without adding to the wank-bank material with more teasing?

 

_Fuck._

No, he wasn’t.

 

He brought his gaze away from Eddie's lean calves and thick thighs and the tempting curves of his browning ass.

 

“Pink?” Louis repeated to the older man confusedly.

 

“Shh, Daddy,” Eddie murmured in a husky voice from the treatment bench. “Don’t give away _all_ of my secrets.”

 

_Daddy?_

Louis was not going to scrutinise _that._

“Not that much of a secret,” Louis supplied.

 

“Heyyy,” Eddie lifted his head up, pouting. “I’m blue,” he claimed. “I’m _blue_ ,” he emphasised.

 

“You asked a cop to cuff you and take you away,” Louis accused. “Pretty sure that’s submissive, Heddie.”

 

Eddie smirked and settled back onto his front.

 

“You should watch my films. I’m in charge.” He stated.

 

Louis swallowed; anxiety returning about the shoot. It had come around fast; was taking place the following day with a daybreak start time.

 

Louis had hoped to get an early night and stay sober, but it seemed his plans were already being thwarted.

 

“So, tell me about angles and stuff,” he sipped his drink, flicking Diamond a rueful smile.

 

Diamond patted his knee; perched beside him on the sofa.

 

“Just be spontaneous.  The camera man will get the shots. Just enjoy it,” he murmured.

 

Louis stared at him and wondered what he really thought about Eddie's job. Whether he worried about him, whether he felt like Eddie could do _better._ Not in a snobby superior way because Eddie had _sex_ for money. But because Eddie deserved to be liked for more than his body.

 

“Pretty sure I’m going to get performance anxiety,” Louis replied.  “Never had to get it up in front of a crowd before.”

 

Diamond lifted his brows.

 

“Is that an invitation? Should I call the crew in?”

 

Eddie chuckled from the bench, chin resting on top of his stacked hands.

 

“Front row and centre,” he teased.  “Good to go.”

 

“Hurry up, Juliet,” Louis scathed.  “Some of us want to eat at some point today...”

 

“Almost done,” Ruby called. “You can shower off in a sec...”

 

Eddie arched a brow.

 

“Wanna shower with me, Willy?”

 

“No,” Louis snapped. “I’ve already showered thanks.”

 

Diamond chuckled beside him as he stood up.

 

“You may as well give up now,” he suggested. “He’s persistent...”

 

Louis glanced at the bench where Eddie was shifting to get up to shower; his long powerful limbs coated in a metallic bronze; casting him an almost god-like light. He rolled his eyes at his own imaginings.

 

Maybe part of the reason he _hadn’t_ given in was that he figured Eddie might lose interest if he did. He needed to test the theory to see if he was right. Eddie seemed the type to get bored easily and once the challenge was gone he would no doubt hop on to his next target.

 

It was as Eddie was being led away that Louis felt a gentle nudge against his elbow.

 

“The rhododendron,” Diamond murmured. “You think he cannot choose which side. He's _pink_ ,” the older man nodded. “Always pink.”

 

“Always?” Louis frowned, confused.

 

Diamond only smiled and slipped out of the room.

 

//

 

“Do you like big dicks, Willy?”

 

Eddie’s tone was dry and enquiring.

 

Louis arched his brow.

 

“Applied for a job in porn, didn’t I?” He shot back.

 

The truth was, he hadn’t met many guys with big dicks. Just the average six, seven inches. Not that it was an issue, because it wasn’t. Louis had great sex, he didn’t need a big dick to make it better.

 

“Taking you to a little place I know,” Eddie murmured as he steered the Sedan with one hand; ringed fingers drawing tight around the curve of the wheel.

 

Louis found his gaze held there; then flicking to Eddie’s right hand where his fingers drummed lightly on his thigh against the soft berry  red material with black checked lines. When he’d first watched Eddie get out of the car to saunter down the sidewalk; he’d snorted at the extreme flares in the leg of those trousers but now that the material tightened nicely around his thighs; he didn’t feel as derisive of the fashion choice. The jacket he wore matched the fabric of his pants; the lapels outlined in thick black and if anyone could pull off a black pussy-bow shirt with the distinctive print of that suit, then it was Eddie Twist.

 

Louis wondered briefly where Eddie might be taking him. Considering they had to be up at sunrise it seemed pointless to try for a club. It was still early by LA’s standards and they were dressed to party. _Well_. Louis smirked to himself. _Eddie_ was.

 

“Hope they serve food,” Louis replied as Eddie reached to turn on the radio.

 

Eddie glanced at him with an amused smile.

 

“Don’t worry kitten, I’ll make sure you’re well fed…”

 

“Don’t call me-” Louis paused. “Never mind,” he sighed. “I’m hungry.”

 

Eddie’s fingers lifted off his own thigh and landed on Louis’.

 

“Almost there, love.”

 

And this time it didn’t sound sarcastic or wry. It sounded soft and sincere and Louis wanted to stare at the man beside him to try and work it out, but he couldn’t. He had to try and maintain some level of objectivity even though that appeared to be quickly disappearing with each hour.

 

It was Niall’s fault for not being available. And James’ fault for believing Louis was capable of resisting Eddie’s charms. The man operated on a whole extra level of charming that Louis didn’t even know existed and when he’d try to tell his boss that; James had just laughed and patted his shoulder as though Louis was telling one of his funniest jokes.

 

He hadn’t been joking.

 

But he was a professional.

 

He ignored the fingers clutching near his knee and looked to the flowing scenery instead.

 

//

 

“I love garlic bread,” Eddie expressed mid-chew; eyes rolling back in his head.

 

“Not planning on kissing anyone later then,” Louis mused; dipping his fry into some ketchup more delicately.

 

“Do you like sharing?” Eddie asked, eyeing his plate.

 

Louis flicked his gaze to Eddie’s own fare- a small mac and cheese dish, ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and grilled peppers along with his garlic bread and onion rings on the side.

 

“Might want to finish your platter, first…”

 

“Those fries look good though,” Eddie licked his lips and blinked and Louis knew exactly what game he was playing.

 

“Sure, help yourself,” he pushed his plate forwards to the middle of their table.

 

Eddie’s lips curved in a smug way but the way his eyes settled on Louis’ and held them had that feeling of uncertainty flushing through him again. _Was he genuine? Or just putting on a very good show?_

 

“Says a lot about a person,” Eddie gathered some fries between his fingers and thumb.

 

“It does?” Louis wondered; taking one of the onion rings Eddie offered him in return.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“I’m not just a pretty face. Or should I say; pretty dick,” he winked, lowering his voice. “I know stuff.”

 

“How very eloquent,” Louis remarked. “What stuff do you know?”

 

“That people who don’t share are mean,” Eddie stated, eyes returning to Louis’ plate.

 

“Want to try anything else?” Louis asked.

 

Eddie swallowed; a dimple caving into his cheek as his amusement-bright eyes flicked up to Louis’.

 

“I wouldn’t want to deprive you of your dinner. Especially since you’re so hungry.”

 

“What is it you want, Juliet?”

 

Eddie lifted the hand that was in his lap and pointed shyly at the side of Louis’ plate. Louis frowned, eyes going over his food-items until they settled on the deep-fried pickles.

 

“Frickles?” He checked; looking up.

 

The look on Eddie’s face made his tummy swoop. _Fuck_. _Fuck it all to hell_. Why were his eyes dark like that? Why did he look like a predator stalking prey? Was Louis his victim?

 

“Uh,” Eddie cleared his throat; voice deeper when he spoke again. “Yeah those. The little fried things…”

 

“Frickles,” Louis repeated, but his voice sounded soft even to his own ears. He lifted his plate to transfer the pickles to Eddie’s already mountainous offering. “Better get started on that lot,” he added with a smirk.

 

“I’ve got a good appetite,” Eddie merely told him with a lazy lop-sided smile before he bit into one of the fried pickles with a youthful smile. “So good,” he added with his mouth full.

 

“I take it your mother didn’t teach you table manners before she passed away?” Louis hedged.

 

In the side of his vision; he noticed Eddie watching him, but he didn’t tense up the same way he had when Louis had mentioned his father.

 

“Been reading up on me then, kitten,” he murmured when he finished chewing and swallowing his food.

 

Louis shrugged.

 

“Saw a few articles about you.”

 

“Hmm,” Eddie’s eyelids dropped to halfway over his eyes. “Best to avoid the newspapers if you want to get on my good side.”

 

Louis smirked.

 

“Who said I wanted to get on your good side?”

 

Eddie stared back; seemingly acknowledging the joke with a lift of his chin.

 

“Your dick told me,” he replied, drily.

 

Louis spluttered out a laugh that had food peppering the table.

 

“Shit,” he tried to control the damage with a giggle. “Made a fucking mess now…”

 

Eddie regarded him with the same cautious suspicion that Louis had come to expect.

 

“My mother was a wonderful woman,” he stated; almost defensively.

 

Louis sat back; a pang hitting him in the centre of his chest.

 

“Of course,” he nodded.

 

“She went too soon,” Eddie added; long tongue flicking in the crux between his thumb and finger; trailing up the digit to fetch the garlic butter that had dripped there from his bread. “I wasn’t ready.”

 

Louis nodded; pushing his vegetables to the side of the plate to concentrate on his burger.

 

“I know the feeling. Mine too,” he offered.

 

Eddie’s tongue settled back into his mouth.

 

“When?”

 

“When I was fifteen,” Louis shared. “I had come out to her, she knew I liked boys and she encouraged me to bring boyfriends home to meet her, but I was so young, you know? I didn’t get into _actually_ kissing them until I was eighteen. I was so fucking late to the party,” he derided. “It broke my heart to think she’d never get to see me fall in love.”

 

“And have you?” Eddie’s voice was a low, soothing tone that Louis closed his eyes to.

 

“Fallen in love?” He checked, opening his eyes to be accosted by the intensity of Eddie’s green orbs staring right at him.

 

“Mmm,” Eddie hummed his agreement.

 

“Not yet,” Louis replied with a quick, wan smile.

 

“You’re only a baby,” Eddie told him; voice thick but warm. “Plenty of time left for you, yet.”

 

Louis bit his lip against admitting his true age. Not the twenty-one years that Eddie believed him to be. The age that _Eddie_ was. But twenty- _five_ , a few years beyond that and yet still young enough to find The One.

 

“What about you?” Louis asked. “Ever had your heart broken?”

 

Eddie scoffed; rolling his eyes.

 

“Fuck, yeah,” he admitted easily; surprising Louis with his candidness. “Not a girl, either,” he added quickly as his eyes followed the shapely outline of a waitress who passed their table.

 

“Interesting,” Louis arched a brow. “Was he a porn star?”

 

Eddie shook his head; hands fidgeting for something to hold. His fingers found the edges of the puss-bow on his shirt and began to stroke them gently.

 

“No, it was in College.”

 

“You went to College?” Louis started, then swallowed. _Of course he went to College_. _Everyone_ went to College. But the way Eddie exuded himself felt like he walked straight out of High School and onto a film set.

 

“Yeah, I went to College,” Eddie echoed Louis’ thoughts with a rueful grin. “Learned my craft…”

 

Louis accepted the crass comment.

 

“Alright, I just--never mind,” he dismissed his thoughts. “You met this guy in College,” he prompted.

 

“The first time I really knew that I liked boys was when I saw the Village People at a Peace Rally in the San Antonio valley when I was twelve,” Eddie shared. “I was obsessed with the one in the cop uniform.”

 

“ _He_ broke your heart?” Louis mused.

 

Eddie smiled at him in a way that was so far from everything he had come to learn about the man in front of him; again, he wondered how many personas could fit into one body.

 

“No, silly,” Eddie lamented. “I mean—I didn’t really understand it at first. And yeah, I liked sex, so it became addictive sleeping with girls but then…then there was a _guy._ ”

 

Louis felt the weight of Eddie’s confession hit him full force in the chest. Eddie’s first man-on-man experience shouldn’t bring on a cold sweat; but somehow, it _did._

“I was eighteen, too,” Eddie blinked. “We didn’t even--you _know_ ,” he swallowed and lifted his shoulder in an almost shy gesture. “Go all the way,” he mumbled. “But. He was it for me. For a long time. And I wasn’t it for _him_ ,” he smiled wanly. “Apparently he had a rotating group of guys to choose from,” Eddie lifted a brow. “I found out the hard way.”

 

Louis lifted his milkshake off the table and sucked on the straw gently.

 

“Is that why you went into porn?” He wondered.

 

Eddie sat back; napkin draped over one thigh and his bow untied, exposing his neck.

 

“I went into porn because I know I’m good at sex,” he replied, eyes dipping to his unfinished plate of food. “Started off topless waiting until someone spotted me and here I am,” he winked. “My fortune already made.”

 

Louis didn’t doubt his claim. He could imagine just _how_ good at sex Eddie was. But his curiosity wanted to know what else Eddie was good at.

 

“What were your College results?”

 

Eddie gave him a bemused look.

 

“I got a diploma in Media Studies and Art,” he supplied, quickly and quietly. “Not that it matters.”

 

Louis nodded just once.

 

_Not that it matters._

Who had taught him that? Who had made him believe that wealth was more important than _intelligence_? Was it the boy who broke his heart? Or someone more influential; his father or step-father perhaps?

 

“Are you finishing those onion rings?” Louis asked; wanting to ask more about the step-father that Eddie had taken the name of for his professional work; but choosing to quit while he was ahead.

 

Eddie stared at him; swallowing hard and frowning slightly with a furrow above his brows; almost assessing Louis’ trustworthiness.

 

He opened his mouth as if to say something weighted; but he pressed his lips together and his nostrils flared as he breathed out through his nose.

 

“You can have them,” Eddie told him eventually; throat dry. “I don't mind sharing my food, either,” he added with a slow smile.

 

And Louis knew it meant something to the young man, but he wasn’t entirely sure _what._ And Louis couldn’t help but wonder; was it only _food_ he liked sharing?

 

//

 

The “little place” Eddie took him to turned out to be huge.

 

It was split into four levels; each having its own theme and Louis had been to a lot of seedy joints in his career, but he’d never been to a male strip club before.

 

The lowest level of the club was in the basement; _Hell’s Dungeon._ Louis was certain Eddie would go straight down the lit, red stairs and into the fiery pits below but once they had cruised past security; Eddie grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the back of the ground floor level; also known as _Pretty Purgatory_.

 

The colour scheme was mustard yellow with tacky gold drapes and beads hanging off the chandeliers; not unlike Eddie’s motorcycle outfit.

 

“Is this what inspired your shirt the other day?” Louis enquired as they stopped by an elevator door.

 

Eddie pressed the button, a one-way option only to go up.

 

“You loved that shirt,” Eddie responded with a knowing smile.

 

Louis couldn’t deny the accusation.

 

“Yeah, maybe,” he murmured; fidgeting enough to realise his hand was still tucked into Eddie's.

 

Eddie looked at him when their connection was tested but Louis didn’t feel the need to break it.

 

Eddie smirked and started forward as the elevator doors opened.

 

“What's next up from Purgatory?” Louis wondered.

 

“ _Enlightenment_ ,” Eddie's lips twitched as he turned to drag his eyes over Louis' body. “But we’re heading to Heaven, Buttercup.”

 

Louis caught his gaze and held it; eyes dropping to plush pink lips. _What was it like to kiss him,_ he wondered? Was he as brash and sinful as he appeared? Was he all about technique; a connoisseur of kissing who kept perfect control?

 

“I’ve had garlic, remember?” Eddie smirked as Louis' gaze filtered back to his eyes.

 

“Was just wondering how bad your breath is,” Louis replied with a cool smile.

 

“Better than your outfit,” Eddie smarted before the doors flushed open; revealing a white painted room with hints of pale blue to create the illusion of clouds. The staff were all in white with fluffy white haloes and Louis suddenly felt his stomach plummet into his feet.

 

He was hideously under dressed. Eddie strolled out of the elevator in his perfect flares; tugging Louis behind him and it was all Louis could do to try and hide himself behind the taller man.

 

“Give me your jacket,” Louis whispered as they reached the bar.

 

Eddie grinned at the barman and lifted his chin in greeting.

 

“Hey, Xander...looking good!”

 

Louis snapped his gaze to the barman and noted his tight white t-shirt and fitted white trousers. Of course he looked amazing, he was twice as broad as Louis and probably a foot taller.

 

“Twist!” Xander called back as he poured a spirit for a cocktail mix. “What're you doing here?”

 

Eddie shrugged, glancing at Louis by his side and then draping a heavy arm around his shoulders. Louis glared at the side of his face.

 

“Just showing my guy around,” Eddie told him.

 

Xander’s gaze went between the two of them with a choked chuckle.

 

“Settling down there, Eddie?” Xander accused.

 

Louis rolled his eyes and huffed, folding his arms.

 

Eddie smiled at him, but Louis didn’t see the full thing because he only glanced up at the last second.

 

“Maybe,” Eddie responded in a soft tone that Louis was coming to recognise as his real voice.

 

Louis snorted, “Liar,” and tried to loosen Eddie’s arm a bit.

 

“He looks a little ferocious,” Xander’s eyes set on Louis as he moved to serve them.

 

“More kitten than lion,” Eddie assured. “Aren’t you love?”

 

“I'll scratch your eyes out,” Louis remarked.

 

Eddie laughed loudly and slid his arm away and Louis let out a breath until the gentle settle of Eddie’s hand on his back had him tensing again.

 

“Thought you loosened up a little,” Eddie murmured against his ear; hand sliding onto his side possessively.

 

“You sure he’s not bacon?” Xander asked; openly eyeing Louis with distrust.

 

Eddie snorted.

 

“Fuck yeah,” he murmured.  “Winston vetted him.”

 

“I am standing here you know?” Louis sighed.

 

“Looks like a Fed,” Xander accused coolly; shaking up a canister to make the drink Eddie had ordered. “They’re kinda uptight and moody like that...”

 

Eddie smoothed his hand over Louis' back and Louis couldn’t help the way his lashes flickered and his body instinctively relaxed.

 

“I can promise you he’s not uptight,” Eddie divulged with a wink. “How’s business?” He changed topic artfully while Louis took the opportunity to lean into him a little since Eddie’s hand had made it onto his arm to pull him in close to his side. It was strangely comfortable bring pressed up against the man, but Louis didn’t want to think about that too hard.

 

“It’s good,” Xander answered. “See you got in some trouble with the pigs.”

 

Eddie's smile stiffened a bit.

 

“It was a misunderstanding,” he swallowed.

 

“Your Dad still--”

 

“My Dad is and always will be a dick,” Eddie cut over him. “I’m just here to have fun.”

 

“With this little sunshine,” Xander mused.

 

Louis stared at him darkly.

 

Eddie giggled, biting his lip. “See you later, handsome.”

 

Xander waved them off; all six foot three, blue eyed, muscled body of him.

 

“Not _my_ kind of handsome,” Louis muttered as Eddie guided them to a plush white couch.

 

“Stay here,” Eddie said, sucking from his cocktail through a straw. “I’m going to get something to cheer me up.”

 

Louis glanced around at the other couches; all angled away from each other slightly and inhabited with closely-positioned couples and a general air of _naughtiness_.

 

After five minutes of sipping a drink that he now recognised as Pink Cloud, Louis was approached by a tall brunette with a friendly smile.

 

“Hi. I’m Nick.”

 

“Hi.” Louis nodded.

 

“What's your name?” The other man asked warmly.

 

“Will,” he shared.

 

“Well, Will.  How would you like to join me for a dance?”

 

Louis looked around to find the outrageous flares. None were in sight.

 

“Er.  I’m waiting on a friend,” he excused.

 

Nick smirked.

 

“Not much of a friend to leave you flying solo,” He broached. “I’ll be your friend,” he added with a harmless toothy grin.

 

Louis looked around again, desperately searching for his assignment and he finally found him among the sprawl of party goers; hustled in a small group of men.

 

Eddie was perched on the lap of one man, swinging his legs between his thighs girlishly.  The material of his trousers swathed around his calves.

 

“Huh,” Louis huffed; wishing now that he had Niall for back up. He hadn’t expected to be split up from his object of investigation let alone deliberately distracted by another patron.

 

Louis glanced back towards the bar and wondered if Xander’s suspicion had anything to do with this. If Louis didn’t go along with the request, then he might be seen to be different.

 

“Not really sure about a dance,” he murmured.  “When does the strip show start?”

 

“You’re a keen one aren’t you?” Nick chuckled, patting his knee. “Are you here with Eddie?” He asked when Louis' gaze drifted back to the giggles emanating from the huddled corner.

 

Louis trailed his eyes over Nick slowly. 

 

“Not really,” he answered.

 

Nick eyed him carefully.

 

“He’s got a different girl every week,” Nick rolled his eyes, touching Louis’ arm.

 

Louis lifted a brow.

 

“I’m just working with him,” Louis assured.

 

”Come and have some fun.” Nick encouraged.

 

“Sure, why not?” Louis decided, following Nick onto the dance floor.

 

//

 

 

“You know...Porn is way better than a one-night stand,” Nick commented as they bounced to the beat. “But there’s still intimacy there. In some ways you’re _more_ vulnerable than normal sex,” he considered.

 

“Thanks for that insightful remark,” Louis mused, wondering just what in the hell he had let himself in for.

 

“I mean to fuck a guy you barely know when you’re drunk is one thing but to get your dick out on film and get hard when you’re worrying about angles and stuff...”

 

Louis blinked at him.

 

“I’m sure I’ll manage,” he replied.

 

Nick smirked.

 

“I like you.”

 

Louis managed a quick smile.

 

“When you stop talking about work I might like you too,” he commented wryly.

 

Nick grinned and leaned in.

 

“What else do you like, Will?”

 

“Cupcakes.”

 

The voice was deep but loud, forced out to rise above the pounding music.  Louis snapped his head up as Nick’s whipped around; Eddie standing directly behind the taller man and hidden from Louis' view as he approached, apparently.

 

“What?” Nick asked the glowering, green- eyed man.

 

Eddie slipped his hands into the pockets of his flares; the jacket now missing and his shirt untied, partly unbuttoned and rolled at the sleeves. Louis’ gaze immediately flashed to the crooks of his arms to check for syringe holes. There were none, but he didn’t know why he felt a surge of relief.

 

“He likes cupcakes,” Eddie repeated with an odd little smile.

 

“Oh!” Nick stopped jigging to grin. “Sweet tooth huh?” He asked Louis.

 

“No, he likes it sour,” Eddie supplied, staring at Louis still. “When you’re finished playing with your toys, kitten, I’m ready to go...”

 

Eddie twisted around and threaded through the dancers, leaving Louis flushed and dry throated.

 

“Um...”

 

“More than colleagues,” Nick lifted his brows accusingly.

 

Louis opened his mouth to refute the claim, but he couldn't really. Considering the way Eddie had just presented them to this stranger.

 

“Different girl every week, remember?” Louis offered with a wan smile.

 

Nick snorted.

 

“Different dick every night,” he murmured.  “See you later, Will.”

 

Louis nodded and slipped through the crowd.


	4. Chapter 4

“Thought you said you needed help to pull.”

 

Eddie’s voice was husky with use. It was midnight and early by L.A. standards, but they only had a few hours until they had to be up.

 

 _Literally_ , Louis mused.

 

He glanced at Eddie as they waited for the elevator; squeezed together in a little cove cut into the wall.

 

“Are you sure you’re sober enough to drive?”

 

Eddie’s wet, derisive scoff had Louis sighing in defeat. He couldn’t deflect the question.

 

“You can see for yourself I’m a bit of a geek.”

 

“You look nice in your glasses,” Eddie told him in an almost accusing manner. “Why aren't you wearing them tonight?”

 

Louis dragged his frames out of his jeans pocket and slid them on.

 

“Just thought maybe-"

 

“Maybe what?” Eddie challenged but it was soft. So damn soft.

 

Louis twisted to look at him and Eddie’s eyes met his briefly; an alluring kind of dark in the low-level lighting by the elevator.

 

“I thought I'd see what happened, that’s all.”

 

“If you wanted to find a guy to fuck you, you should have just said. Could've got an early start on tomorrow...”

 

If Louis hadn’t smoked weed he might think that Eddie sounded like a jealous boyfriend. But he _had_ smoked weed and he'd had a couple of Pinks, too. So he knew he was imagining the possessive tone.

 

“Still got time, Sunflower,” Louis shot back; stretching his back a little.

 

He noticed the heavy weight of the air; charged with sudden tension.

 

“Nice try,” Eddie let out a breathy chuckle; the tension deflating.  “Ha-ha.”

 

Louis pursed his lips and wondered why he was even entertaining the idea.

 

“I mean...Maybe you’re right,” he posed; earning a disbelieving look from the younger man. “Maybe we do need to... you know...practice a bit so it doesn't turn to shit when they shout _action._ ”

 

“Actually, they like to film continuously,” Eddie shared. “Like we warm ourselves up, I do a little _thing_ to get going and then they tape it all and edit it later.”

 

Louis frowned; gulping down his anxiety.  He never pictured this job requiring him to perform sexually under pressure. He had kind of hoped he’d have his case wrapped up in a matter of days. And if not, he was meant to be a model, not a willing participant.

 

“What _thing_ do you do?” He asked, intrigued.

 

Eddie let out a sharp,uninhibited crack of laughter. He turned and hid his face against Louis’ shoulder as they shuffled along in the queue. Louis couldn’t help his natural response to comfort the other man; sliding an arm around him to smooth his hand up his spine.

 

“What's funny?” Louis wondered.

 

“Not sure _this_ is a good place for the _thing_ ,” Eddie smirked; dark eyes glittering.

 

Louis felt his heart rhythm jump.

 

“You don’t need to _show_ me,” Louis mocked.

 

Eddie bit his lip in an almost child like way, curving towards Louis to ensure his lips were right reside his ear.

 

“I like to take a dildo,” he murmured.

 

Something like white hot lightening bolted down Louis’ body and headed right for his dick. What the _fuck._

 

“Oh?” He managed weakly.

 

Eddie’s eyes flicked over his face.

 

“I like to take it before I give it.”

 

“Do you like giving it?”

 

The question was absurd and Louis wanted to reign it back in but was out there; wild and free.

 

Eddie shuffled his feet, sagging against Louis slightly.

 

“Can you keep a secret?” He asked in the deepest voice Louis had heard.

 

Louis looked right into his eyes.  _What’s your secret? Do you like to look at children? Have you committed the crime you’re charged with?_

“I can,” Louis vouched. _Liar._

Eddie tried to gather himself more closely into Louis' side.

 

“I _always_ like to take it,” Eddie mumbled.

 

“Always?” Louis asked; echoing his chat with Diamond.

 

Eddie gave him a dark look; the tilt of his flushed lips quite sinful as he flashed a dirty grin.

 

“Always.”

 

Louis took a moment to consider that information.

 

“So why do you-"

 

“You know what else I like?” Eddie talked over him; pinning him against the wall. Louis didn’t even flinch when Eddie's palm flexed over the front of his jeans.

 

“Pretty sure you don’t get a handful like that with a girl,” Louis chucked out wryly to keep a grasp on reality even as it slithered quickly away.

 

“Fuck, are you even _listening_?” Eddie pressed against him with a body roll; breath catching excitedly as their torsos brushed together. “I like _boys_ , Will. I like boys to fuck me. I like boys to _kiss_ me. I like boys to suck me off and--"

 

Louis moaned as Eddie persistently dragged the heel of his hand over his zipper.

 

“What do you like about girls?” Louis asked in his haze of arousal; confused and turned on.

 

Eddie made sure their bodies were in full contact before he replied.

 

“Damned if I know,” he managed shakily, rutting against Louis when Louis weakly gave into his musky smell and dug his fingers into the back of Eddie's hair.

 

“We need to--"

 

“Shh,” Eddie nosed into his neck, fingers tracing the ridge that was now formed in Louis' jeans.

 

Louis grasped his shoulders and lifted his hips into the touch . His thigh was wedged between Eddie's and the move brought him some friction because Eddie laughed breathily; deep and tinged with a frustrated whine.

 

“Yeah, kitten,” he murmured silkily.

 

Louis pushed his fingers into Eddie’s hair to tug; bringing his head back gently despite the commandeering move.

 

“Don’t call me that,” Louis murmured; eyes fixing to Eddie’s throat as he swallowed. A low hum vibrated in Eddie's chest.

 

Louis watched him buck up against his thigh; his own body painfully tight against his jeans.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Eddie said but waited, hair still clasped in Louis' fingers.

 

It was the first time since meeting him that Louis had seen him give in. Submission had been _suggested_ but to witness even a hint of it; from a man who usually _demanded_ it...well Louis was weak for seeing more _._

He tidied Eddie’s hair with careful fingers; eyes flicking to his crotch.  The flared trousers weren’t hiding anything and Louis suddenly loved everything about the design.

 

“C'mon love,” Eddie took his hand and led him into the lift with the other patrons.

 

//

 

 

The taxi let them out right by the sand of the beach in front of Eddie's impressive house, the building forgotten as the young man tugged Louis towards the sea.

 

Eddie plopped to his knees in the soft dark granules of sand; fingers drawing a small packet from his pocket.

 

“Want a bit?” Eddie looked up as he unfolded the foil to reveal a white powder.

 

“I’m good,” Louis assured, heart thrusting against the outer wall of his chest.  He was still sporting a semi; his body too aware of Eddie’s kneeling position.

 

“Come on, Willy,” Eddie reached up to grasp his wrist and tugged hard enough to have Louis landing on his knees beside him. Eddie twisted his fingertip into the powder to scoop it up, eyes flicking towards Louis. “Open up...”

 

Louis shuffled to position himself more comfortably in front of him, thick lashes swooping up as he met Eddie's steady gaze. He parted his lips, tongue dashing out as he rested his hands on his thighs. _He shouldn’t be doing this. He could have said no._

Eddie's eyes crossed slightly as he focused on tipping the powder onto his tongue; smoothing it into the groove as Louis rolled his tongue to hold it. Eddie shifted on his knees; pitching forward to grasp the back of his neck and before Louis knew what was happening; Eddie was flicking his tongue into his mouth.

 

Louis let him lick away the cocaine; swallowing what was left as he blinked at him; surprised.

 

“Steady, Eddie,” he teased lowly.

 

Eddie merely dimpled and fell onto his back; fingers moving to unlatch his pants.

 

“Let’s go for a swim,” he suggested with his deep, slow voice.

 

Louis choked out a laugh; waiting for the buzz of the powder to kick in.

 

“What?”

 

“The water will be warm,” Eddie promised. “Come on, Buttercup...”

 

Louis watched him wriggle out of his flares, his tight black briefs quickly flicked away as he struggled with the buttons on his shirt.

 

“Help?” Eddie implored with a lopsided grin.

 

Louis tried to avoid looking at his very naked, very _big_ dick and crawled over to where Eddie laid with his back to the sand; a gigantic smile on his face.

 

“Feel so good, Will. Feel so _free_...”

 

Louis took a moment to watch him; strangely gentle fingers digging through the sand by his sides; long lean legs kicking out impatiently while sparkling green eyes focused on him with blown pupils.

 

“C'mon, love,” Eddie prompted him softly.

 

Louis made efficient work of unbuttoning the remainder of his shirt, letting it drape to either side of his chest.  The way he was laid, he arched his back a bit; chest pushed up to expose his collarbones and the beautiful toned expanse of his torso.

 

Louis couldn’t deny his urge to touch. But that wasn’t on the cards for them; it wasn’t a viable option. Instead he staggered to his feet and stripped off the lemon-yellow shirt he had on, kicking off his shoes.

 

Eddie giggled and sat up to unzip his boots; taking a few tries to get fully upright but once he did he streaked boldly towards the waves with a shriek as his battle cry.

 

“For fuck's sake,” Louis muttered, leaving his vest and boxers on to run after him.

 

He couldn’t convict the man if he let him drown, after all.

 

//

 

Rounding Eddie up on a high proved tough work.  The younger man wanted to play and the truth was, Louis was relishing the overwhelming feeling of enjoyment that the cocaine was flushing through him.

 

It was _fun_. He didn’t often get to have fun and having Eddie to share it with...

 

Louis sighed as the lean youngster slipped through his arms again after an attempt to catch him.

 

“You do realise we have to be on set in few hours?” Louis called out.

 

Eddie trod water a few feet away.

 

“Come catch me then, fisherman. Come catch your mermaid...”

 

Louis began to swim toward him; expecting him to slip away once more. Eddie merely lifted a brow as Louis floated in front of him.

 

“Gotcha,” Louis gently wound his arms around him to make his point.

 

Eddie went lax and leaned back; a blissful smile splitting his lips as he let Louis take his weight.

 

“Got me,” he repeated slowly as his legs tangled with Louis'.

 

_Now what?_

Louis flicked his gaze over his glistening chest and wet throat. He was right, the water was warm as it lapped over their skin and twisted around their bodies. The night was so incredibly dark. But the stars were reflected in Eddie's eyes and the shore wasn’t so far away that Louis felt stranded.

 

“Mmm,” the deep growl tugged from Eddie’s throat had Louis looking down.

 

Under the water, Eddie was touching himself. Long fingers wrapped around his lovely big dick. Louis swallowed his initial reaction. _Jealousy._ He wanted _his_ hand there, stroking his hot, silky skin.  He licked his lips. He wanted to _tell_ him. He wanted to _ask_ for something he had no right to ask for. And yet he wanted it anyway despite all of that.

 

He shifted, tightening his left arm around Eddie’s waist to secure him enough to free up his right hand, Eddie’s eyelids latently blinking open halfway. His lips parted as he let out a breath; not quite a sigh and Louis didn’t have the words to ask for what he wanted, so he used his hand instead.

 

Gently he guided his fingers around Eddie's thigh; drawing it upwards through the water and at first Eddie's breath caught as he watched him with a confused frown but then he swallowed and hummed; eyes slipping shut once more.

 

Louis didn’t have to ask. Eddie wrapped his legs around him easily; squeezing once he was in place. Louis didn’t miss the tiny smug smirk flicking up in the corner of his mouth.

 

“Yeah, love,” Eddie let go of his arousal and stretched his arms out by his sides, lifting them over his head. Louis noticed the tiny indents in his hips where his muscles flexed; the delicate ripple where his ribs stretched out. The tightening of skin around his nipples as they hit the cool night air. The upright jut of his already flushed dick pushing through the water.

 

Louis wrapped his hand around him; kicking his legs as he suddenly remembered he had to keep them both afloat.

 

He was already inventing excuses for his abandonment of normality. _He was drowning. I had to save him. It wasn’t my fault he was naked._

_Fuck._

Eddie hissed. Louis assigned the sound to the scorching heat of Eddie’s skin touching his wet hand. His hand was tiny; far too small to fulfil the man in his arms but Eddie didn’t seem to mind. His lashes fluttered and he let out another low moan.

 

Louis had no idea how to beat the competition.  Porn stars knew exactly what to do, right? They knew what buttons to press and how to press them. He was just a man. A man who stupidly thought he could fake it.

 

“Fuck,” he whispered as Eddie's hips arched for more.

 

“Mmm, later,” Eddie rasped, gasping when Louis adjusted his arm to span his hand over his lower back to support his arching body.

 

_Later?_

They didn’t _have_ later.

 

Louis choked as his own stiff heat brushed Eddie’s bare backside; the thin material of his shorts his only saving grace. He was going to blow and it was only a matter of time. And this time around he couldn’t hide it.  He was in too deep to climb out of the abyss.

 

“You’re really good,” Eddie whispered; long fingers sliding between Louis’ with a shaky touch. “Show me?”

 

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

 

Louis squeezed his eyes shut and said a prayer. It must have come true because when he opened his eyes Eddie was staring at him with a hooded gaze and Louis hadn’t spilled yet.

 

He waited for Eddie to guide him; to shape his hand but he laid there floating in the water; naked body open like a pretty Lily and his lips dark pink under the sparkling sky.

 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Eddie choked as he met his gaze; head thrown back so that his hair got soaked once more.

 

“Easy,” Louis cupped the back of his neck; leaning in to reach; flicking his legs to balance them as Eddie flexed his thighs around his waist. “Don’t drown,” he added softly with a smile and Eddie returned it with another throaty hum of approval.

 

“Too late,” Eddie promised; white teeth flashing against dark lips as a crooked smile peeled across his lips; his eyes pinning Louis into place right before his body quivered.

Louis let his fingertips glide over the thick vein on the underside of his shaft; his thumb sliding over the tip and then Eddie gave out a gasped laugh; thick wetness splashing Louis' skin as he came.

 

Louis had never orgasmed without touch before but the sight of him; of Eddie’s ecstatic pleasure, the length of his throat and the way his teeth bit into his lip....He could understand why Eddie wanted a painting of it hung in his living room. It should be hung in galleries all over the world.

 

Louis rubbed himself gently against the inside of Eddie's thigh, biting back his urge to cry out loudly as the tightness of his heat met the wet warmth of Eddie’s skin through his underwear.

 

Eddie smiled languidly up at him as his own release shot hotly into his shorts; earning him a satisfied smirk from swollen red lips as he shuddered hard.

 

Eddie’s chest was flushed as Louis came back to earth; the swell of water reminding him that he had to keep them from going under. Eddie’s arms were doing most of the work though; taking over from Louis' temporarily paralysed legs.

 

“Well.” Eddie cleared his throat. “Hope you’ve got stamina, Buttercup.”

 

Louis blinked at him; remembering their curtain call in less than six hours.

 

“I can go for as long as you need me to, Sunflower,” he murmured. “But right now we both need some sleep...”

 

Eddie giggled and twisted so that he released Louis' waist from the grip of his thighs; leisurely swimming for shore.

 

“Last one there sleeps naked,” Eddie called.

 

Louis rolled his eyes and started after him.

 

//

 

It was stupid to go home, truly. Louis planned to take the spare room, but Eddie had collapsed in an endearing curl on top of the guest bed and Louis didn’t have the courage to seek out another room.

 

He fetched the leopard print dressing gown from the back of the door and draped it over Eddie's naked body and settled beside him with the covers drawn over them both.

 

Tomorrow he could berate himself for what had let happen. Tonight, he wanted to dry-press the feeling in his heart.

 

 

//

 

“Hungry?”

 

Eddie was unusually bright as Louis made his way into the kitchen.

 

Eddie looked strangely at home; pouring what appeared to be a fruit smoothie from the blender into a glass.

 

Louis flicked his eyes up to study the man. Less than four hours of sleep had him waking with the heavy ache of regret and a dull buzz from the cocaine they'd shared.

 

Eddie looked like he’d run three blocks and swam four miles and Louis maybe hated him for it. His own hair was still damp from the shower; his shirt crumpled and his jeans caked in sand. He was irritable without the weight of his conscience pressing on him.

 

“No, I’ll just grab some coffee on set,” Louis mumbled.

 

Eddie shook his head, sipping his drink.

 

“You need to eat properly, Willy. What do you like?”

 

“You mean you can cook?” Louis yawned; padding sleepily to a stool and climbing to sit on it.

 

Eddie blinked.

 

“Why wouldn’t I be able to?” He enquired drily.

 

Louis refrained from answering.

 

“Where’s the shoot taking place?”

 

“The Palm Hotel” Eddie supplied. “Ben paged me the address.  They’re still setting up, so we have time for breakfast.”

 

Louis watched Eddie pour him a smoothie drink and walk it over. He looked different in his skimpy red shorts and a sleeveless white shirt; a blue bandana tied around his hair. Louis' gaze hovered there; recognising the scarf.  Eddie had never given it back.

 

“I'm not hungry,” Louis mumbled, frowning at the healthy drink.

 

“You can’t expect to film for twelve hours without a good breakfast, love. Personally, I'm having eggs. But I can make you whatever you want. Pancakes, perhaps? You have a little sweet tooth after all...”

 

Louis snorted; knocking his head back with a sigh.

 

“Fine. I’ll have some eggs if that’s what you’re making.”

 

Eddie's smile tucked into the corners of his mouth triumphantly.

 

“Good choice, Willy. Speaking of which, how is your lovely little dick today?”

 

Louis choked on the smoothie.

 

“Still think it’s little huh?”

 

“Didn't let me see it in all its glory,” Eddie pouted. 

 

“Pretty sure your hand had a good measure,” Louis bounced back.

 

“I mean it’s _cute_ ,” Eddie shrugged, his slim legs distracting Louis’ gaze to them.

 

The back of his hair was a bit nesty where he'd tied it up; obviously leaving it to the hair and make up artist to fix.

 

“Cute?” Louis swallowed; real insecurity creeping up on him. It wasn’t as though Ben didn’t know his credentials but what if—“It’s not too late to call Jerome,” Louis accused. “Didn’t realise last night was a second audition or I might have brought a dildo for you since you like to fuck _those_ so much.”

 

Louis jumped off the stool and walked out.

 

//

 

“Hey, man.”

 

Louis startled at the voice as he hovered in the front drive; leaning against the Sedan sulkily.

 

“Hi,” he lifted his chin as a face came into view over the fence. The beach houses were built in clusters and although they were several feet apart, the boundaries were shared.

 

“Smoke?” The black man asked.

 

Louis walked over to take a cigarette; lighting it and pausing to survey Eddie's neighbour.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“No problem, man.”

 

“Lived here long?” Louis asked.

 

The man vanished only to reappear in Eddie's drive, apparently having walked around the front to talk to him.

 

“A while,” the young man shrugged.  “You know Eddie?”

 

Louis smiled wanly. _Better than he ought to._

“Yeah.”

 

“What, did he kick you out? You need a ride?”

 

Louis inhaled the tobacco and blew it out with a relieved sigh.

 

“No, I’m just waiting for him.”

 

“Funny kid,” the man told him.

 

“I’m Will by the way,” Louis stuck his hand out.

 

“Dexter,” the man shook his hand.

 

“What do you mean by funny?” Louis asked.

 

Dexter eyed the house carefully.

 

“Nobody ever comes here to visit. Has the odd party, a lot of girls? But nobody else.”

 

“Not even his parents?” Louis wondered.

 

Dexter scoffed.

 

“Well his Dad's in Cuba for a reason,” he mused. “You think politicians disappear for tax evasion? Nah. He’s gone for something worse. But Eddie don’t see his Dad anyway.”

 

“Oh, right,” Louis nodded, feigning indifference as he took another drag.

 

“Nah only his Step-Dad,” he added. “But he don’t come here. Eddie got another house in the ‘burbs.”

_In the ‘burbs?_ Louis stared at him.

 

“You mean the place in Silicon Valley?”

 

“Ah you know it,” Dexter smiled, winking. “You must be good friends.”

 

“The _very_ best,” Eddie’s voice cut through the air; startling them both.  “Hello, Dexter,” he added with a polite smile.

 

“Hey, man,” Dexter nodded, then moved go leave. “See you around, bro,” he added to Louis.

 

Louis nodded.

 

“See you around.”

 

He turned to look at Eddie.  Eddie didn’t have an accusing expression on his face as expected.  In fact, he looked mildly contrite; a confusing thing to witness. Louis noticed a silver package cradled in his hands.

 

“I made you a sandwich,” Eddie told him. “Bacon and egg. Hope you like it.”

 

The foil parcel was placed into Louis' hands.

 

“Shall we?” Eddie asked.

 

Louis nodded. _We shall._

_//_

 

“So that place you said was a friend's house...” Louis led as Eddie cruised along in his Sedan.

 

Louis missed the Harley a little and wondered when it might make another appearance.

 

“Is my house,” Eddie offered simply, glancing over as he pushed back his hair with ringed fingers. 

 

He’d changed from his casual shorts and vest into some silver platform boots with black stars on; a bizarre silver all-in-one suit covering his body. It seemed to hitch up a little in the crotch area going by the way the fabric cupped his balls. Louis was doing his damndest not to look.

 

“Oh,” Louis swallowed his surprise. “Fair enough.”

 

“Don’t want fans sniffing around there,” he mumbled. “I like to use the beach house for my guests.”

 

Louis could see why.

 

“My lips are sealed,” he promised.

 

“I’m getting to know that about you, Willy.” Eddie smiled underneath fingers that curved over his lips. Three bold rings caught Louis' gaze; a large embedded square ruby on his pointer finger, a plain thick silver band in the middle and a large silver rose on the ring finger.

 

Louis wondered who had bought him those rings and under what circumstances he took them off.

 

“Are you going to take them off when we roll?” Louis pointed to his hand.

 

Eddie splayed his fingers; considering his jewellery.

 

“A little semen never hurt anyone,” he shrugged.

 

Louis began to feel light headed. He decided to open his breakfast sandwich and eat.

 

//

 

There was a boom-box propped up by the pool.

 

Large clusters of padded loungers fitted into circular arrangements; umbrellas fixed above the clean white linen.

 

 _Won’t be clean for long,_ Eddie had told him when he’d mentioned it.

 

Ben was setting the scene while Louis said he had a call to make but the call box _outside_ the hotel was the safest place to go.

 

“Tommo where the fuck are you?” Niall demanded. “We were expecting you to check in by five.”

 

“It _is_ five,” he argued with a strange kind of tightness in his chest. “I got caught up.”

 

“You didn’t shoot your load again did you?” Niall snickered.

 

“I’m going to shoot the load in my gun right into your thigh when I next see you,” he promised quietly.

 

“Oh nice,” Niall scoffed.  “There was me _worrying_ about you and-"

 

“Eddie took me to a club and asked me to stay over,” Louis murmured.  “I’m gaining his trust and one of his friends called me out as a Fed.  I couldn’t leave,” he added.

 

“Wise move,” Niall assured. “But we really need your eyes and ears back, so we can keep an eye on his associates. Any more news?”

 

“Des is in Cuba apparently,” Louis shared. “Check out a guy called Dexter who lives next door to Eddie on the beach. He seemed to know a lot. There’s-" Louis paused with a swallow. He looked around to check he wasn’t being watched.

 

He’d never felt reticent to share vital case information before.  The second house in the Valley would certainly need to be staked but for the first time it was hard to reveal the location.

 

“There’s another house,” he reeled off the address. “Should check that out.”

 

“Rightio, porn star. I’ll let you get on with making your dick famous...”

 

“Apparently it’s too _small_ ,” Louis rolled his eyes. “I'll try and hook up my glasses,” he added.

 

“Nah, leave it,” Niall suggested. “Don’t draw attention to yourself now. Just keep in touch.”

 

“Will do,” Louis replied; sensing a movement in the hotel lobby and for good measure in case he was being over-listened he added, “See you soon, sweetheart.”

 

He put down the receiver to a string of expletives; twisting to head back inside.

 

Eddie was stood on the sidewalk; frozen between the hotel lobby and the telephone box; a displeased pinch to his lush lips.

 

“Everything alright?” Eddie asked with a bob of his throat.

 

Louis nodded just the once; working hard not to look bewildered.  He wondered if Eddie had come after him out of concern. It seemed more appropriate to send a runner than come himself.

 

“They’re ready to start,” he added as Louis just stared.

 

Louis moved to pass him; heading into the building with a pounding heart.

 

//

 

 

“Booty call!” Eddie announced loudly as he strolled onto the lit-up set beside the pool. He’d been furnished with a pink silk gown that grazed his thighs and fell open around his dick whenever he shifted.

 

Louis startled and glared at him.

 

“He was taking a booty call from his _sweetheart_ ,” Eddie accused; fawned over by most of the crew while Louis waited patiently for Elle to oil him up.

 

The very small, tight red Speedos had nearly sent him over the edge of the building in panic. He was sure he didn’t have the body to pull it off. They’d left his hair soft and loose over his forehead and he was playing a _pool boy._

He scoffed.  Fucking _Neil_ would pay for this he vouched.

 

Ben gathered them together to explain the premise.

 

“Okay, were going to start the scene with shots of Will cleaning the pool with a net,” he pointed to the area where Louis would be standing. “At first Eddie isn’t in the shot but as Will works around the pool he’s going to get more suggestive.  Eddie's a businessman on the phone,” he added. “Watching like a hawk of course.”

 

Eddie’s slow, satisfied smile slipped onto his lips.

 

“Of course,” he purred.

 

Louis didn’t think it was possible for the man to get more obnoxious but apparently, he was wrong.

 

“Will, you’re going to let him watch you.  You can ad-lib. We’ll have music on but if you don’t feel like dancing just try some sultry looks and teasing the waist band of your shorts, that sort of thing.”

 

“What shorts?” Louis rested his hands delicately on his hips; earning a snort from Eddie. Eddie sobered enough to purse his lips and blink seductively.

 

“I think they could be smaller,” Eddie professed.

 

Ben’s eyes flicked between them.

 

“Eddie, you’re going to beckon him over. End the business call and start wanking off while he watches.”

 

Louis caught Eddie's gaze; his brow lifting in a _done that_ silent gesture.

 

“Louis you get on the lounger, I don’t care how you do it. Go with what feels natural. But the gist of it is that you’re going to end up with Eddie coming over you.”

 

“Any particular area?” Eddie enquired smoothly.

 

Louis would almost think he was being sarcastic.

 

Ben studied Louis for a minute.

 

“He’s got good collar-bones,” Ben decided. “Try that first. Well see how many times you can go.”

 

Eddie's lashes fell to his cheeks as a quiet, derisive expellation of breath was let out.

 

“I’ll just pop some Viagra and go as many times as you like,” he murmured.

 

Louis frowned; glancing between the two men. They seemed to size each other up for uncomfortable minutes.

 

“Any questions?” Ben finally asked.

 

“Uh...do I undress him?” Louis wondered.

 

Ben shook his head.

 

“Eddie knows what he’s doing. Leave the bulk to him.”

 

Louis nodded and moved into position, sucking his belly in.

 

The soft voices behind him perked his ears.

 

“Surely I should come on his tummy,” he made out Eddie’s deep tones.

 

“He’s got a nice chest,” Ben replied and Louis felt his cheeks burn.

 

“I _know_ he’s got a nice chest, but look at his curves,” Eddie insisted. “He’s soft-looking and the viewers will like that.”

 

“They’ll also want to bite those collarbones,” Ben argued. “Besides I want the second take to be on his ass.”

 

Louis tilted his head to make out Eddie's response, but another voice cut into his eavesdropping.

 

“Who’s your sweetheart?” Elle asked as she fixed his fringe.

 

Louis smiled.

 

“Nobody, I was just winding Eddie up.”

 

Elle smirked at him.

 

“Seems to have worked,” she commented; slipping away as the cameras began to roll.

 

Louis began to swathe the pool net through the water; semi conscious of Eddie being dressed into chino shorts and a blue and lilac print Hawaiian shirt. _Exactly_ the kind of thing a business man would wear by the pool.

 

The music was turned up.

 

 _Rod Stewart._   It wasn’t really doing anything for Louis but then _he_ wasn’t the one getting hard yet.

 

He began to pose. Stuck out his bum a little and spread his legs. The sun was warm and his skin prickled with the heat on the oil sheening his skin. He began to twist his body subtly this way and that.

 

“Good,” he heard Ben encourage.

 

Louis turned the corner of the pool; eyes magnetically drawn to big, ugly feet.

 

“Yeah I need ten men in Japan in an hour,” Eddie was playing out his role authentically.  “I’m just by the pool catching some sun...I'm flying out tomorrow.”

 

Louis licked his lips and pretended not to have noticed him laying there. He went back to his rhythmic water sweeping; his arms bunching with the weight of the pole.

 

“Oh, pool boy,” Eddie's thick-with-husk voice called as Louis leaned right over to catch a pesky insect drowned in the water.

 

Louis twisted; cool eyes flicking down Eddie's dressed body.

 

Eddie crooked a finger. Louis merely blinked.

 

“Do you speak English?” Eddie asked.

 

Louis turned fully; tummy muscles flexing as he hitched a breath.

 

“¿Hablas español?"

 

Louis flicked his glossy fringe out of his eyes.

 

“Can I help you, Sir?”

 

Eddie's lips tilted into a surprised smile. _Sir._ It was evident he hadn't expected Louis to say that.

 

He crooked his finger again, patting the lounger. Louis drifted over.

 

Eddie sat up a bit; placing the phone to one side.  The mobile unit was huge to Louis, but it looked small in Eddie’s hand. Would _he_ look small? Would his dick be edited out?

 

Louis reached the side of the lounger and waited. Eddie grasped his wrist and removed the net; gently laying it on the ground.

 

“I need some help,” Eddie gravelled.

 

Louis placed an uncertain knee to the lounger edge; eyes meeting Eddie’s in trying to read him.

 

“Want you underneath me,” Eddie murmured; fingers grasping Louis' wrist.

 

Louis merely jerked his chin and shifted in a smooth movement; twisting his hands to reverse their hold; straddling Eddie’s hips to pin his wrists above his head.

 

“You’re not the boss of me,” Louis told him, Eddie’s long form stretched helplessly underneath him.

 

“Eddie take charge,” Ben called. “Don’t get carried away.”

 

Eddie's lips twisted into a smirk as Louis let go and moved to kneel at the edge of the lounger once more. He tucked his fingers under the edge of his trunks; his dick stirring already at the image of Eddie laid there with his luscious curls and puffed up lips.

 

“Gonna blow me?” Eddie smirked.

 

Louis refrained from answering; eyes dipping to where Eddie palmed himself over his shorts. Louis licked his lips, arching a mischievous brow as he dipped a whole hand into his tiny red trunks and fondled his balls.

 

Eddie's eyes darkened. He moved to unbutton his shirt.

 

“Slowly,” Ben called as Eddie went to undo his pants. “Zipper first. Slide your fingers inside. “

 

Louis gripped himself within his swim trunks. He was heading to hard faster than he would like; images of Eddie’s lax, ecstatic face flashing into the back of his mind.

 

He bit his lower lip as he tugged, eyes still fixed in one place; cutting out everything but the tanned, fit torso of Eddie Twist.

 

He leaned foward to tuft Eddie's hair; shuffling across his legs slightly.

 

“Keep at an angle,” Ben reprimanded.

 

Louis sighed; his buzz waning until he traced Eddie's fingers slipping into his unzipped shorts.

 

Eddie’s hips twisted but it wasn’t in pleasure.  He huffed a bit and readjusted; fingers smoothing over himself inside his shorts.

 

“Let’s get going, Eddie" Ben encouraged.

 

Louis flicked his eyes over his naked chest; settling among his happy trail. His own body was reacting surprising well considering the crew surrounding them. Eddie sighed again and Louis focused on his face.

 

“Tired you out last night, Juliet?”

 

Eddie rolled his eyes.

 

“No...I just-I need more visual stimulation.”

 

Louis snuck down the edge of his pants to reveal the head of his dick. His dick which was now thick and strong in his palm and in no way could be described as _small._ But that flicker of insecurity still settled on his skin as he trailed his eyes over Eddie’s thighs; trying to focus on his dick.

 

“Eddie,” Ben's voice sounded harsh. Louis twisted to frown at him.

 

“Give him a minute,” he murmured; then remembered where he was and who he was supposed to be.

 

He reached for the hand not in Eddie's shorts and curved it around himself; biting his lip and swallowing with a little throaty grunt as he pressed Eddie's thumb along his pulsing vein.

 

Eddie's eyes latched onto him; wide and bewildered and Louis let his eyes flutter shut with a satisfied sigh.

 

“Yeah,” he moaned.

 

It was three long minutes of using Eddie’s hand to stroke himself before Ben’s voice cut into their bubble.

 

“Eddie kneel up and get both of you in one hand,” he instructed.  “Doing great, Will.”

 

Louis almost laughed. Apart from the cameras shoved too close into their space, he didn’t feel like he was acting at all. Eddie was different here. He wasn’t as responsive as he’d been the other times they’d touched. He was tense and uncomfortable and all of his boasting about being good at this; about being a _professional_ , it all seemed to be slipping away.

 

“Come on, get your shorts off,” Ben goaded. “On your knees.”

 

“Just—I’m getting there, okay?”

 

“Do we need to bring some girls out for you, Eddie? Need a blue pill?” Ben goaded.

 

Eddie’s eyes pierced Louis’ with a dark frustration; his lips pressing tightly together right before he flipped up, not to his knees but to his _feet_ , hand yanked from the unzipped fly of his chino-shorts. His eyes flicked away from Louis' to accost Ben with his anger.

 

“I can’t get it up,” he growled, stalking away.

 

//

 

Louis watched him go with slack lips; hand still gripping his own heat.

 

He made out the shift in the atmosphere; the focus taken off him momentarily. Ben looked towards Eddie's receding back and then to Louis.

 

“Think you can finish?” Ben asked him plainly.

 

Louis nodded. He’d fucking explode if he _didn’t._

“We'll get a come shot and film Eddie later,” he decided; turning the cameras back to Louis before the moment was completely lost.

 

//

 

Eddie was sitting on the edge of one of the hotel room’s bed, stiff back to the door. His hands were pressed together in some kind of prayer; the cross of his necklace caught between his palms.

 

Louis shut the door quietly. Nobody was allowed into the room. He was never one to follow the rules.

 

“Guess I need a strap on to get you going,” Louis tried for dry humour and winced at his own awkwardness.

 

Eddie's shoulders tightened.

 

“Come to boast?” He queried on a whisper.

 

Louis walked over and sat beside him on the bed. Their dynamic worked because they rebounded off each other. Eddie didn’t _have_ an emotional side and that made things easy. Louis could treat him like a faceless criminal who he just needed to unravel carefully without his knowledge.

 

But _this._ This brittle; acerbic version of the cocky young man he knew was—

_Fuck._ It was _attractive._

Louis nudged his elbow very gently against Eddie’s so that he could smooth a hand onto his thigh.

 

“Don’t say it,” Eddie’s voice was deep and sounded thick with something like tears.

 

“Say what?” Louis wondered.

 

“That it happens to best of us,” Eddie huffed. “It doesn’t happen to _me,_ okay? This has _never_ happened to me.”

 

Louis swallowed down the wad in his throat, slipping his hand into his own lap.

 

“I think that’s more to do with me than you.”

 

Eddie peered at him with a bemused frown.

 

“It’s not like I can’t get hard around you, Buttercup.”

 

Louis smiled wanly.

 

“You said yourself you like _big._ That you need someone who’s into you,” he added quietly; barely a throaty whisper.

 

Eddie surged off the mattress to stalk to the window; hands on his hips.

 

“It’s really not about you,” he promised.

 

Louis lifted his chin. Then what _was_ it about?

 

Eddie turned away from the window to comb back his fallen curls.

 

“I’m into you,” he assured. His lips flicked in an oddly endearing smile. “You’re a nice size, Willy,” he added breathily.

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“No use trying to flatter me now, Sunflower.”

 

Eddie drifted toward him, leaning down to wrap his arms around Louis’ waist to draw him upwards off the mattress and then two gentle hands cupped his behind as he was hauled inexplicably carefully towards Eddie’s alluring body.

 

Eddie pressed himself against Louis' hip, hands caressing his ass.

 

“Feel that, kitten?” He mumbled in a thick, deep voice.

 

Louis couldn’t _un_ feel it, truth be told. He grasped wide, strong shoulders and tried to calm his suddenly wild heart.

 

He lifted his lips to brush them against Eddie’s ear, palm cupping the back of his neck where his fingers tangled in his growing hair. Eddie shuddered and leaned in; pulling him tighter to his body.

 

“Forget about everything else,” Louis told him. “It’s just us, yeah? Just Sunflower and Buttercup wanking off by the pool...”

 

That drew a breathy laugh from Eddie who straightened up and Louis couldn’t help wondering if the tender mauling of his ass wasn’t a cover to obtain a cuddle.

 

“Time to face the music,” Eddie forced a smile.

 

It was Louis’ turn to take his hand and lead him away.

 

//

 

“It wasn’t him...no, I know.” Eddie's eyes flicked to Louis as he cradled the mobile phone set between his ear and shoulder, the long, retractable aerial wafting about as he twisted. “Tonight? Yeah I’ll come by when I’m finished here. Can I bring someone?”

 

Louis looked up from where he was tying his sneakers.

 

“A friend. No, a nice friend. Someone you'll approve of,” Eddie dimpled and turned to avoid Louis' gaze. “Yeah I know. We’ve got a couple more options yet.”

 

Louis sighed and straightened his t-shirt as Eddie finished his call; a borrowed band shirt from Eddie's collection that upon closer inspection appeared to be a _women's_ shirt _._

 

“Which girlfriend left this behind then?” Louis plucked at the front of the Queen shirt gently, his jean shorts belted already.

 

It hadn’t been as awkward as he’d thought it might be _afterwards._

Eddie had _got it up,_ he’d wanked them both off with one enormous hand and they filmed well into the late afternoon. Louis' skin felt sun-kissed; his nose and cheeks catching the worst. And they’d just cleaned themselves off in the pool with a few extra scenes and gotten dressed ready to go home.

 

“It’s mine,” Eddie answered his question about the top.  “I like tight clothes.”

 

The silver playsuit was testament to that.

 

“You certainly do.”

 

“Better make sure your booty call doesn’t see it,” Eddie mused.

 

Louis pursed his lips.

 

“It wasn’t a booty call.”

 

“Oh sorry. Your _sweetheart_ , then,” he derided. “True love’s young dream.”

 

Louis cleared his throat; finding himself wanting to tell Eddie the truth. Or part of it at least.

 

“It was my sister,” he murmured. “Needed a bit of boy advice.”

 

Eddie snorted.

 

“And she asked _you_?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“Pretty sure it’s still better than any advice you've ever given,” he accused.

 

“Hey, I’m a _great_ listener,” Eddie argued. “I’m _very_ attentive.”

 

Louis knew _exactly_ how attentive he was, _thank you very much_. He did not need any reminders.

Somehow every orgasm he'd had since meeting Eddie outright beat every single orgasm he’d had _before_ that.

 

“Right,” Louis tried to wrangle the conversation back under his control.

 

“What are you doing for dinner?” The younger man asked him; grooming out the curls in his hair with his long fingers. He procured a hair clip from the lapel of his suit; twisting his fringe to secure it in place.

 

The answer to Louis' question about whether he ever took his rings off had been answered. The feel of those digits tight around him with the added thrill of hot metal rubbing his sensitive skin would be something he wouldn’t be forgetting in a hurry.

 

“Uh, just a quiet one at home,” Louis replied.

 

Actually, he had mountains of paperwork to catch up on.

 

“Come with me,” Eddie invited him audaciously. “My step-dad wants to meet you.”

 

Louis bit his lip in momentary uncertainty.  Robin Twist was the man he knew the least about. A face-to-face meeting would be a massive coup in putting the case together.  But the invite felt like _more_ somehow. It felt like something Eddie didn’t do very often. And that... _That_ was a problem.

 

“What are you having?” Louis questioned, to bargain more time to decide.

 

“Barbecue,” Eddie grinned. “C'mon kitten...”

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“Okay,” he nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

“So, you're the first man to defile my son on film?” Robin greeted Louis with a hearty hand-shake and a bear hug.

 

Louis smiled nervously. Considering the things he and Eddie had already gotten up to, it was difficult to look the man in the eye. Louis didn’t feel so much like an FBI agent. More like a teenager meeting his crush's parents for the first time.

 

“Actually, it’s more the other way around...”

 

“Sounds about right,” Robin looked at Eddie. “Aren’t you going to formally introduce us?”

 

“Dad this is Will Darling, Will this is my Dad, Robin.”

 

“ _Step_ -dad,” Robin corrected with a wink. “The prodigal father is an ass if you didn’t know...”

 

Louis chuckled, his reticent gaze flicking to Eddie.

 

“Thank you for having me,” Louis smiled.

 

“Say, you look kinda familiar,” Robin assessed Louis’ profile as Louis watched Eddie mooch around the kitchen seeking out food to nibble on.

 

Louis lifted his brows.

 

“I’ve got that kind of face,” he excused.

 

“That _handsome_ kind of face,” Eddie piped up, tossing cashews into his mouth.

 

“Is he always this charming?” Louis asked Robin and he chuckled.

 

“Not _always_ ,” he replied with a soft kind of smile that Louis couldn’t decipher. “Guess you’re pretty lucky!”

 

Louis lifted a brow, giving Eddie a telling look.

 

“Pretty sure I’m at the back of a long line of beautiful women,” he murmured.

 

Robin glanced at Eddie and Louis only caught his nonchalant shrug.

 

“I _have_ had a lot of beautiful women,” he admitted.

 

“Well I hope you like meat, Will,” Robin continued. “Got the pit fired up already.”

 

“We need to get freshened up for dinner,” Eddie stated then. “I’ll get changed, too.”

 

He moved across the kitchen to grasp Louis' hand.

 

“C'mon kitten,” he murmured, leading Louis through the house.

 

//

 

Eddie owned a pair shorts that were even more sinful than the red ones Louis had seen him in.

 

The tiny, bright yellow version were simple but— _tight. Fuck they were really tight._

He dragged his gaze up from Eddie's well- established package for the fiftieth time. He earned his fiftieth knowing smirk from Eddie, too, as the younger man helped Robin with the food.

 

“So where do you live, Will?” Robin asked.

 

“Uh, I’ve got a house on Oberon Boulevard”

 

“Oh yeah? Who do you live with?”

 

“Just me,” Louis smiled. “I’m new to town.”

 

“Well I’m sure Harry will show you around,” the older man offered; earning a glare from his step-son.

 

“Eddie,” he reminded quietly.

 

Robin rolled his eyes.

 

“Everyone at the studio knows your real name anyway.”

 

Eddie carried a piled-up plate of food towards Louis.

 

“Hope you’re hungry,” he murmured; hovering by Louis' leg. Eddie nudged his knee. “Was gonna sit with you.”

 

Louis stared at him; cheeks flushing at the idea that Eddie’s step-dad would see them _together._ But today they’d shared more than some couples had; so it felt _right_ somehow. If they were real people who had shared something intimate, then they’d want to be close afterwards. The fact that _Eddie_ wanted to be close was like a ball out of left field.

 

_Except maybe it wasn’t._

And Louis suddenly realised that the reason why his plate was loaded was because he'd put two helpings on one dish, so they could share.

 

“Alright, Juliet, I guess you can perch on my knee,” he invited with a smile.

 

Robin laughed as Eddie- taller and bigger framed than Louis- folded himself up to sit in his lap.

 

Eddie looped his arms around Louis' shoulders and grinned.

 

“Told you he was a nice guy,” he winked at his step-dad.

 

Louis settled back with Eddie in his lap and repeated a silent mantra. _Don’t get hard. Don’t you dare get hard. Don’t fucking get hard._

Eddie picked at food off the plate and fed some to Louis with a lazy, smug grin that told Louis he knew _exactly_ the effect his tiny shorts were having on him.

 

When he’d thought about whether Eddie might lose interest once he'd conquered Louis; he hadn’t imagined a scenario where he _upped the ante._

And Louis didn't particularly feel like he’d _given in._ But Eddie looked pretty pleased with himself. Louis settled a hand in the middle of his spine.

 

“What do you do for work, Mr Twist?” Louis enquired.

 

“Call me Robin,” the older man insisted. “I’m an engineer,” he added. “I take it you haven't always worked in the porn industry,” he added.

 

Louis smirked.

 

“Not really. Kind of decided to try it since the money's good...”

 

Eddie shifted on his thigh.

 

“Robin designs engines for aeroplanes, you know.”

 

“Sounds interesting,” Louis commented; meeting Robin’s gaze.

 

The older man seemed to consider the pair of them before speaking again.

 

“Look after my boy while you’re around, Will,” he said suddenly. “I know that Winston chap doesn’t always.”

 

“ _Dad_ ,” Eddie complained softly.

 

Robin smiled unapologetically.

 

“He just wants his money,” Robin complained. “You’re still my boy, Harry.”

 

Eddie's gaze clung to his step father for a long moment.

 

“Can you stop being embarrassing now, please?”

 

Robin chuckled, eyes flicking to Louis. Louis circled his hand on Eddie’s back as Eddie curled up to tuck his head into Louis’ neck.

 

“Tired, Juliet?”

 

“Hmm,” Eddie hummed and yawned, settling closer.

 

Louis gave Robin a mock eye-roll and he laid the food plate to one side and linked his hands around Eddie's waist.

 

“Never sleeps, this one...”

 

Robin’s gaze settled on him, but Louis couldn’t tell what his expression meant.

 

“Watch out for him,” he murmured again.

 

Louis nodded, a furrow forming above his brows.

 

//

 

 

“There's got to be _something_ on Winston,” Louis strode into the office in his uniform, swifting past Niall to get to his assigned desk.

 

Niall watched him plop himself down, only to frown and get up again; moving to fetch a cushion from the sofa to lay at the bottom of his seat. He resettled with a sigh.

 

“What do you mean?” Niall asked. “We’ve done all the checks.”

 

Louis shook his head.

 

“There’s something between him and Eddie,” Louis offered. “Have they ever dated?”

 

Niall arched a brow.

 

“You getting jealous over there, Lou?”

 

Louis gave his friend a cold stare.

 

“I met Robin last night.”

 

“Oh!” Niall jumped up, rushing over. “What’s he like? Is he an asshole like Eddie?”

 

“He calls him by his real name, it was weird,” Louis replied. “But he doesn’t like Winston. And I’m not saying Winston is caught up in this kiddie business but there was tension on set,” he shared. “So that means there’s history.”

 

“Probably just pissed his biggest star got arrested,” Niall mused. “He doesn’t seem to worried about your boy being a peodo.”

 

“He’s not a peodo,” Louis muttered.

 

“You got evidence for that?” Niall challenged.

 

“Not yet,” Louis admitted. “Give me another week.”

 

Niall shrugged.

 

“Take as long as you like there’s nothing urgent waiting. We just need to make sure that this guy isn’t taking lewd photographs.”

 

“Did you look up Des?” Louis checked.

 

“Yeah,” Niall went back to his desk and shuffled through some papers. “He’s holed up in Cuba like the neighbour told ya. Sources at the White House say he had a minor indiscretion. Probably fucked his assistant or his secretary or whatever.”

 

“How long is he out there for?”

 

“He’s got a business trip to New York next week.”

 

“You got guys watching him?”

 

Niall nodded.

 

“Absolutely, we're sending in Fitzgerald and The Kid.”

 

“Good. I want the dirt on that creep.”

 

Niall's fingered hovered over the keys of his computer.

 

“Louis? You do know Eddie could be guilty, right? You could look into all these guys and turn up nothing and this guy reoffends and--" Niall swallowed. “You need to stay objective.”

 

Louis snapped his head up.

 

“It’s called gut feeling, _Neil_. And I haven’t cracked most of my cases without it.”

 

“It’s what else you’re cracking that I’m worried about,” he murmured, going back to his screen.

 

Louis ignored the accusation.

 

“Anything on Dexter?” He checked before he got on with his work.

 

Niall licked his lips slowly, shaking his head when Louis looked up to gauge his reaction.

 

“No, he’s clean. Just nosey by the looks of things.”

 

Louis clenched his teeth in annoyance. He had hoped for a lead of some kind, something to back up his gut. He went back to his papers with focused determination.

 

//

 

Eddie strolled into Ben's office with his tinted Aviators on, a turquoise suit covering his mostly un-buttoned white shirt.

 

He had something in his mouth and it took Louis an uncomfortable amount of staring to work out what it was.

 

A _toothpick_. The asshole was tonguing a toothpick.

 

Louis drummed his fingers against the arm of the seat.

 

Eddie gave him a cool once-over.

 

“Hi, love.”

 

Louis smiled wanly.

 

“Hi.”

 

“Right,” Ben cleared his throat to break the moment. “Are you both ready? We’ve printed out the comments on the film from the test audience.”

 

Louis leaned forward in his seat.

 

“I’m ready,” he assured.

 

Ben slid the papers his way.

 

Louis’ gaze drifted over the sheet, bypassing the crude remarks and suggestive symbols.

 

Some of the comments were highlighted in yellow. His eyes flicked to those keenly.

 

“He’s too _Daddy_ to be a twink?” He read out loud, bemused. “Let’s see the Chihuahua mount the great Dane...”

 

His mouth fell open. Eddie snatched the papers from his grip, furiously reading the words printed on it.

 

“We're not _dogs_ ,” he pouted. “I’m not fucking _born to be a bottom_ , how dare they?”

 

Louis snorted.

 

Eddie glared at him.

 

“It’s your fault,” he accused blindly.

 

“Excuse me?!” Louis half-laughed.

 

“I couldn't get hard and-"

 

“You said it wasn’t _me_ ,” Louis argued.

 

Eddie shrugged, glancing away.

 

“You lying little shit!”

 

“Gentleman!” Ben held up a hand and rose slowly from his seat. “As you can see, the test audience like the two of you together.  But we need to rethink the dynamics.”

 

Louis deliberately looked away from Eddie’s profile; glowering at Ben instead.

 

“What does that mean?” He asked, since Eddie was picking at his turquoise trousers.

 

“That instinct you had to dominate,” Ben broached. “We’re going to explore that...”

 

“Oh, no way,” came a breathy chuckle. “There’s no way _he’s_ being put in charge...”

 

“ _I’m_ in charge,” Ben reminded him. ”And if the viewers see Will as the controlling force then we're going with that. Is there an issue?” He asked pointedly.

 

“Yeah, he’s a newbie!” Eddie professed immaturely. “I’m not- I’m not _comfortable_ with being depicted as a sub.”

 

“Tough,” Ben said simply. “You’re still under investigation so you don’t have a lot of choice, Eddie.”

 

Eddie frowned.

 

“I could audition elsewhere,” he mumbled, but it was an empty threat.

 

Louis went to get up, assuming the meeting was over.

 

“I’m not done,” Ben stated.

 

Louis sat down. Eddie stuck his toothpick back into his mouth; tongue rolling to grip it.

 

“I’ve booked you both in for a bonding weekend,” Ben explained. “Since you both seem to have trouble _getting on,_ we need to change that atmosphere on set.”

 

“Bonding weekend?” Louis echoed.

 

“ _You’re fucked,_ ” Niall's voice said into his ear; the first time he had spoken during the meeting.

 

“It’s a spa resort.  Massages, Jacuzzis, a little golf...there’s couples therapy sessions I’ve pre-booked for you both to work through your animosity.”

 

“I’m not animous!” Eddie denied.

 

“That’s not a word, dickhead,” Louis tutted.

 

“Fuck off, Willy.”

 

“Happily, Heddie...”

 

They both looked around to find Ben's expectant gaze on them.

 

“Have fun in Nevada,” he said only.

 

//

 

“Okay, someone needs to injure me,” Louis stated seriously as he stormed into HQ.

 

James was sitting on the sofa with a pair of head-phones strapped over his head; watching something on the screen.

 

“Pretty sure that’s against the Fed code,” Niall answered him at least.

 

James slipped off his headset.

 

“What do you need, Tommo?”

 

“I need maiming,” he replied. “Or a fake death. _Something_ to get me out of this.”

 

“Out of what?” Niall wondered.

 

“This case!” Louis threw his hands up and dropped them against his thighs with a frustrated sigh. “This guy is obviously clean. Whatever the LAPD caught him doing with his camera; there’s nothing sinister behind it. I’ve whipped my dick out on camera, but you can’t expect me to-“ He took a deep breath; letting it out slowly.

 

“To what?” James looked bemused.

 

“Spend an entire weekend in couples’ therapy with this guy!” He exasperated; flicking his hands upwards again.

 

“ _Couples therapy_?” James repeated; spluttering afterwards in amusement. “How the hell did that happen?”

 

Louis glared at him.

 

“Apparently Winston noticed there’s tension between us. Wants us to _work it out_ ,” Louis enunciated. “I mean I’m all for watching this guy, but I never signed up to be his-“

 

“Boyfriend!” Niall exploded into loud cackling laughter. “Oh my god, this is _brilliant_!”

 

Louis blinked slowly.

 

“I want a ten-page essay to describe exactly how anything about this disaster is brilliant,” he demanded. “This is a fucking code red, _Neil_.”

 

“Code red is when your life is in danger, Tommo,” James cut in calmly. “Let’s not misuse the coding system because you’re having a moment…”

 

“A _moment_?” Louis swung around to march towards his boss. “I told you not to let me go back in there! I warned you that this was getting way too deep and look what’s happened! They want me to play nice with this guy! The guy has a fucking painting of himself in his living room eight feet high-- _of his own orgasm-face_!” He raged. “Someone will die by Monday,” he vouched. “And you’re going to ignore my code red.”

 

James got up from the sofa and gripped Louis by the arms.

 

“Tomlinson. You’re one of my top four agents,” he began, interrupted by Niall shouting “I’m number one!” in the background. “I know this is a tough assignment; we all get too involved sometimes; especially when the people involved aren’t monsters,” he coached. “But we still don’t know why this guy is carrying a camera around and visiting every school in the California district,” he reminded. “And until we know the real motive for his strange behaviour then we can’t pull you off the case.”

 

Louis stared at him, breath slewing in and out as he calmed his temper; defeat settling into his bones. He really couldn’t get out of it.

 

“What if I fuck up?” He whispered; afraid. “What if I cross the line?”

 

James moved towards Niall.

 

“Niall will be your eyes and ears the entire weekend,” he promised. “He’ll help you stay on track.”

 

Louis turned to look at his friend and work partner; earning a solid nod from the brunette Irishman.

 

“I’ve got your back, Lou,” he promised.

 

Louis let out a breath. So, he was doing this. He was spending the weekend in couples’ therapy with a man he didn’t even like.

 

//

 

Louis was just zipping up his hand-held bag when the deep roar of an engine sounded in the drive of the rental house.

 

He wheeled his suitcase into the hall and checked his hair before opening the door.

 

“Good morning, Buttercup,” Eddie loped towards the door with a long-fingered wave and a film-star grin.

 

His hair was softer than usual; like he’d left it to dry naturally, his pristine white flares paired with a semi-sheer sparkly shirt with a pussy-bow. Louis rolled his eyes and shunted his glasses up his nose.

 

“You’re wearing that in the car?” He accused; his eyes flitting towards the drive where an outrageously beautiful sports car sat. “What the fuck is that?”

 

The car was bright yellow and for Eddie, Louis couldn’t have picked a vehicle more befitting if he tried.

 

“What?” Eddie frowned, twisting to follow Louis’ gaze. “Oh _him_. That’s Dino,” Eddie introduced, smiling proudly. “My new Ferrari.”

 

Louis stared at the low-slung, tiny vehicle and wondered how the fuck Eddie expected them both to survive the trip.

 

“It’s not too late to take my Zodiac,” he offered drily.

 

Eddie smirked.

 

“It’s yellow, Willy,” he purred. “Like Sunflowers and Buttercups…”

 

“Tell me you didn’t buy that car because of a nick-name your hair-dresser gave you…” He scoffed.

 

Eddie’s lids dropped coolly over his eyes, lips pursing in an affronted way.

 

“You don’t like it.”

 

Louis felt something poke him in the chest. Something like guilt. He swallowed down his initial reaction; his fear, really. Being stuck in a small space was not his idea of fun but the drive wasn’t so long that it would be an issue.

 

“It’s…well, it’s not awful,” he tried, moving into the drive to have a look around the vehicle.

 

“See, it’s got turbo speed boost and tinted windows and the leather is gorgeous,” he promised. “Wait till you get inside, kitten.”

 

Louis twisted and gave him a silencing glare.

 

“I just hope my luggage fits,” he huffed as he walked back to the house to grab his case and brought it to the car.

 

Eddie wedged it into the boot with his own; leaning against the inside of the passenger door to prop it open for Louis to get in. He gave Louis an appreciated once-over, lips twitching to curb a smile.

 

“Ready when you are,” he promised silkily.

 

Louis dumped his hand-held bag behind the chair and knocked it back; twisting so that he was nearly pressed against Eddie’s front.

 

“A little room would be nice,” he muttered.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“Figured I might be lucky enough to get a little hello hug.”

 

Louis’ heart faltered in his chest. So, Eddie _did_ like being hugged, he had been right about that. And he didn’t know quite how to go about getting them so he just— _asked_. Or took them through the guise of feeling him up. _Huh_. Learn something new everyday, he mused.

 

“ _Give the sweetie a hug_ ,” Niall cooed in his ear. “ _Go on Lou-bear, don’t be shy_.”

 

Louis reached up and wrapped one arm around Eddie’s shoulders and one under his arm; pushing onto his tiptoes to meet his height. Eddie shifted off the door to pull him in; a deep vibrating hum purring in his chest. His hand smoothed gently across Louis’ back; settling decently without seeking out his ass.

 

“We can go a little crazy, you know,” Eddie murmured against his hair. “Ben’s money is paying for all this, we may as well try and make the most of it.”

 

Louis pulled away and nodded.

 

“I can see the benefit in that,” he admitted.

 

Eddie smirked and shut the door once Louis was seated; strutting to the other side of the car and unlooping his sunglasses from the pocket of his shirt to settle them onto his face.

 

“Ready?” Eddie asked.

 

Louis sighed and grimaced his agreement.

 

_Ready, Eddie._

 

//

 

“So, what’s with Winston?” Louis asked as they made their way through the traffic of the city towards the canyon.

 

Eddie glanced at him.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Louis stretched his legs in the foot-well; the leather soft against his back and underneath his thighs.

 

He was wearing an orange checked shirt and some tan smart shorts; lace-ups on his feet.

 

“I mean he was a bit…weird,” Louis described. “You know at the shoot.”

 

Eddie’s lower lip disappeared between his teeth.

 

“He’s just doing his job,” Eddie commented; avoiding Louis’ gaze in the pretence of watching the road. It wasn’t something that usually worried Eddie when it came to keeping eye-contact in the car.

 

“Went a bit harsh on you though,” Louis observed.

 

Eddie drew in a breath and sighed it out.

 

“I—it’s not what you’re thinking,” Eddie offered.

 

“What am I thinking?”

 

“That we’ve fucked, probably,” Eddie did look at him then; arching a brow.

 

Louis blinked.

 

“Yeah. That is what I was thinking,” he admitted.

 

He expected Eddie to call him kitten and make a joke about him being jealous. Eddie pushed his fingers into his hair.

 

“I haven’t,” he stated carefully, like he was more ashamed of not fucking his boss than if he _had_ fucked him. “I mean…it was definitely hinted at,” he shared. “Practically _expected_. But. I didn’t want to be just another star who only made it because of who they were fucking, you know?”

 

“You wanted to make it on the talent of your dick alone,” Louis quipped.

 

“Have you ever been told you’re not good enough, Will?”

 

Louis stared at him; the conversation taking a sudden serious turn that he hadn’t expected.

 

“Yes, by you,” he countered smartly.

 

Eddie rolled his eyes and huffed a bit.

 

“That’s not-that’s teasing,” his brows furrowed as he mumbled his way through his words. “You’re not small,” he added very softly. “Told you, you’re a nice size.”

 

“Right,” Louis nodded. “So, what’s the point?”

 

“The point is that for nine years of my life I was growing up in the shadow of a man who was revered,” he explained. “You might see porn as just sex on film but for the first time in my life I felt validated,” Eddie enthused. “It wasn’t just about my dick to me. I was _good_ at it. I made people _feel_ good and that—that _means_ something,” he vouched. “At least it does to me.”

 

Louis watched the side of his face as his dimple pooled there when he pressed his lips together and released them with a little breath.

 

“I don’t expect you to understand,” Eddie added quietly.

 

“Then the fact you chose not to sleep with the boss is the reason why he’s hard on you?” Louis guessed.

 

“He’s not hard on me,” Eddie defended with a pout. “I’m paid to do a job.”

 

“But it’s not like a normal job,” Louis mused. “It’s not an exact art, is it?”

 

Eddie lifted a shoulder.

 

“A server would get wages docked for breaking plates,” he reasoned.

 

“Is that what he tells you?” Louis twisted to ask; dumbfounded.

 

Whatever the problem was between Eddie and Ben; he was satisfied it didn’t relate to the photographs. Ben was an egomaniac, simple as. But Louis shouldn’t be getting so invested in his treatment of Eddie. It was none of his business what went on. If Eddie chose to put himself in that arena every day for the fame and glory of being named _King_ _Dong,_ then Louis had no place telling him he deserved to be treated better. It didn’t make it any less true, though.

 

“When you’ve been in the business as long as I have, Willy, then you’ll understand that it’s just how it works. I’m not hard done by,” he added quickly; almost to prove a point.

 

Louis looked away, stunned by his view-point. _I’m not hard done by. For fuck’s sake._ Louis wasn’t hard done by with the Bureau either, but did that mean James was justified to needle him to death about his performance in each assignment? Louis’ boss had been supportive of him even when Louis had admitted he might digress or even _fail_. Could Eddie say the same about Ben?

 

Louis startled as loud music burst into the car; Eddie’s radio flicked on to drown out the awkward silence.

 

 _Fuck_. This weekend was going to be catastrophic, he could feel it in his bones.

 

//

 

“ _What happened there, Lou?_ ” Niall asked even though Louis couldn’t reply. “ _I was about to tell you to back off, but you were kind of hard at it. I know you want to keep your distance but he’s shutting down on you, bud. Try and pull it back?_ ” He beseeched. “ _Remember what I said about being nice? About asking him questions and stuff? It’s seduction 101. I know you’ve got it in you, Tommo. You wanked the guy off so…_ ”

 

_So?_

 

Louis sighed, folding his arms and closing his eyes to feign sleep.

 

If he was really honest with himself, he knew exactly why he was being such and an asshole, but it was such a pathetic, shameful reason that he’d never admit it aloud.

The truth was that he could see practically all of Eddie’s upper body through the glimmering nylon of his shirt. He could see the way his nipples were a little hard from brushing up against the scratchy-looking fabric. He could see the flex in his tummy muscles; the way his laurel leaves curled over his hips prettily. He could see the play of muscle over his back; the shift in his wide shoulders and- actually, _yeah_. Louis was a little bit hard. He shifted; hoping his shorts covered his reaction. Because yelling at Eddie was his best defence in getting hard for him.

 

“You can’t go to sleep.” Eddie’s accusing, deep voice pierced his thoughts.

 

“Why not?” Louis asked back; but his voice was raspy and he opened his eyes anyway.

 

“I need help with directions,” Eddie told him.

 

He had turned the radio down a few notches.

 

Louis looked out of the window to see where they were; squinting into the trees lining either side of the road.

 

“Where’s your map?” Louis sat up a bit in his seat; running his fingers through his fringe.

 

“I don’t have a map,” Eddie replied.

 

“Then how am I meant to help with directions?” Louis wondered.

 

“Dunno just…look for signs,” he suggested.

 

“Look for signs?” Louis repeated, unamused. “You need a map.”

 

“I don’t need a map,” Eddie argued.

“Well I beg to differ because we are in the middle of fucking nowhere,” Louis realised.

 

“ _Tommo_ ,” Niall warned in his ear; voice crackly like the radio static hissing into the car.

 

Eddie reached over to flip it off. Niall’s warning didn’t ease his flared temper any.

 

“Look, it’ll be fine,” Eddie promised coolly. “This road has to go _somewhere_ , right? It doesn’t just lead into a black hole…”

 

“Yeah, it probably leads right into the middle of the woods where an angry axe-murderer is waiting for our arrival. Probably laid the tarmac himself!” Louis gestured wildly at the unmarked asphalt in front of the car.

 

Eddie snorted and threw him an amused smirk.

 

“What the fuck, Willy? You watch too much TV.”

 

“No, I-“ Louis swallowed; halting his words. _I work with too many serial killers to know it is a real possibility._ Not something Eddie could know, really. “I’ve seen things happen,” He finished lamely with a sniff.

 

“What, you’ve seen a guy walk out of a log cabin with an axe and attack someone?” Eddie mused. “Only when you’re tripping, kitten…”

 

Louis shook his head slowly; rolling his lips into a curl.

 

“You have no idea, _Heddie_ ,” he muttered. “Just be thankful you’ve got your nice little beach house and nice little _safe_ job and that nobody’s ever done anything to hurt you other than to insult your hair, probably…”

 

“Hey, fuck you,” Eddie growled.

 

Louis jolted, but not at his words; at the ear-splitting static that shot into his ear-piece. He subtly slid his glasses off, pretending to clean them.

 

“Oh, come on then,” Louis invited. “Tell me when you’ve really been hurt, Sunflower. Convince me you even know a _fraction_ of reality outside of your pretty little bubble…”

 

Eddie opened his mouth and closed it; nostrils flaring as his chest flushed dark red in frustration; his breath huffing out.

 

“I’m not telling you anything, you asshole! How dare you fucking assume--!”

 

“You’re not convincing me otherwise, dickhead.”

 

“Right,” Eddie gritted his teeth and swerved the Ferrari to the side of the road. “I need to pee.”

 

“Oh, you need to piss in serial-killer central?” Louis accused.

 

“Yep,” Eddie said; popping his door and sliding out.

 

“What-“ Louis gasped; releasing his belt and rolling down his window as Eddie loped around the back of the car. “Get the fuck back in the car!”

 

“I need to pee, Willy,” Eddie called; boots crunching against the dried leaves of the woods.

 

Louis looked at the dark road ahead; startled and shot out of the car.

 

“Fuck,” he hissed as he strained to see Eddie in the dark. His white trousers stood out among the pitch black of the trees.

 

“I guess you want to get a look at my dick then,” Eddie accused as Louis hurried up behind him.

“No, I just don’t want to get fucking kidnapped by a serial killer waiting on my own at the car,” Louis derided.

“Can’t I just fucking piss in peace?” Eddie sighed; rounding a large tree.

 

Louis lost sight of him for a second; frowning and tiptoeing around the thick trunk to check where he’d gone to; but he made a full loop without finding the white glare of his trousers and he sucked in a fearful gasp as he twisted about to search for the man he was coming to hate.

 

“Boo!” Eddie lurched out from behind another tree; snorting as Louis jumped in the air.

 

Louis pressed a hand to his chest; eyes wide as he tried to catch his breath. He might catch criminals for a living but he _hated_ the dark.

 

Eddie shifted, face softening as Louis breathed in and out slowly.

 

“Hey, look-“

 

A twig snapped; pausing them both on the spot. Eddie glanced at Louis with wide eyes; lips parting to speak again but Louis shook his head and lifted an accusing finger.

 

“This is your fault,” he jabbed Eddie in the shoulder. “If you hadn’t fucking left without a map and then pulled over in the middle of _The Evil Dead_ then we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess,” he hissed.

 

“What mess, Willy?”

 

“There’s a fucking killer in this forest and he’s sneaking up on us right now and all you can do is-“

 

Eddie rolled his eyes; turning his body to face into the pitch black. He began to walk further into the woods with a determined stride.

 

“You’re so fucking dramatic!” Eddie huffed. “There’s nobody here. It was probably a deer or something.”

 

“A _dead_ deer,” Louis accused as he quickened after him. “And you’re going first by the way when the killer comes…”

 

“I mean, do you only watch horror movies?” Eddie mused. “Would it hurt to put on a romantic comedy once in a while?”

 

“Romantic comedies aren’t set in pitch black woods, Eddie,” Louis cast as he stomped through the trees to keep up with Eddie’s pace. “And you’re just looking to take part in the next horror film, aren’t you? King Dong in _Porn of the Head,_ ” he hissed.

 

“Oh, just be quiet, for fuck’s sake, Will!” Eddie spun to yell at him. “What is your fucking problem?!”

 

Louis fiddled with his glasses as the static hissed quietly in his ear, giving him hope that signal was coming back.

 

“My _problem_ is that—”

 

A sudden, loud rumble echoed overhead; halting Louis from his rant.

 

“What the fuck is that?” He looked up; only seeing branches and the darkness interspersed with the trees.

 

A sharp, distinct crack sounded out; startling both him and Eddie, for the younger man shuffled his feet nervously.

 

“We should get back,” he stated. “It’s going to rain.”

 

“Really, Sherlock?” Louis sassed. “Thanks for the weather update…”

 

Eddie glared at him; shunting him in the shoulder as he passed him to head back towards the road. Louis stumbled in the undergrowth and fell to his knee. His glasses were knocked off into the leaves and he reached for them, over-balancing on his knees and accidentally pressing his hand into the frames to right himself.

 

Louis heard a crunch and hissed as something sharp bit into his skin. He unfolded the legs of the glasses to check their state and found them mildly bent; but the ear-piece was mangled and he knew he couldn’t salvage it, it was too broken to fix.

 

“Fuck it,” he muttered; getting up to whip around and look for his partner. “Eddie?”

 

He lost sight of the bright white of Eddie’s pants quickly; a fact which only heightened his utter fear even further. It was _his_ responsibility to keep Eddie safe in some respects. What if someone murdered him before he was brought to trial and Louis was beside him when it happened? He was pretty certain James couldn’t get him out of _that_. He chucked out an annoyed breath and began to run.

 

“Eddie?”

 

“Fuck off,” he heard Eddie respond; signalling his position in the woods.

 

“Look, let’s just get back to the car, okay?” Louis yelled. “I might be fucking livid but let’s not be stupid about this!”

 

“You’re the stupid one!” Eddie argued; sounding distant and breathless so Louis took his pace up a notch to catch up.

 

“The road is to our left,” Louis called. “Where are you?”

 

“So far right you can’t find me!” Eddie yelled gleefully and three seconds later, Louis felt the fat splash of the first drops of rain.

 

“Eddie, don’t be a dick!” Louis switched direction to go after him.

 

“Why not; _you_ are?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes and pushed back his hair as the rain trickled through the trees to land on him in thick splashes; the leaves underfoot becoming slippery as he ran.

 

“Eddie?!” He cried; panicked.

 

Louis skidded to a halt in a clearing; the clouds parting to give him the barest flash of the moon.

 

“Yeah?” A soft, deep voice responded from behind him.

 

Louis span around; relief flooding him as Eddie approached from where he’d apparently been relaxed against a tree; a dark look in his eyes that was only partly attributed to the lack of light.

 

“E-“ Louis opened his mouth to apologise; to beg for forgiveness but Eddie was wrapped tightly around him before he had the chance; thick reams of rain pattering down upon them as the taller man cupped the back of his neck in wet; cold fingers and tilted his head to kiss him; lips hot by contrast to the cold air surrounding them.

 

Louis hitched a breath; a soft noise catching in his throat as he gave in to the onslaught; his conscience catching up slowly to what was happening. When it got there, he got to his toes and pressed aching, hard kisses back against the soft; owning lips mauling his mouth; his body pressed fully against Eddie’s firm one.

 

Eddie moaned in his throat; not letting up from their kiss to release the sound so Louis ate it; he clutched at Eddie’s flimsy-shirted back and dug his fingertips into his flesh as he flicked his tongue against the curious one probing his mouth.

 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Eddie grunted; connecting their lips again in another owning kiss; slower this time and hotter. His lips were pulsing with the same urgency Louis felt coursing through his veins.

 

“Don’t fucking-“ Louis ripped his mouth away to gasp. “Again, okay?”

 

Eddie seemed to agree; nodding before he kissed him again; bending to slide his hands onto Louis’ ass to flex his palms there; a quiet whine leaving his throat.

 

“Wet,” Eddie murmured against his jaw; sucking a kiss there, too.

 

“Fuck, yeah,” Louis agreed, because what even was this? _What were they doing?_

 

“Car,” he added in the deepest voice Louis had heard.

 

They stumbled, hand in hand towards the road; heated words forgotten for the moment while their bodies throbbed with a different kind of heat.

 

It wasn’t clear how it happened; the rain and the darkness and the fear had everything fuzzy; but when they reached the Ferrari; Eddie tripped over his own feet and caught himself with a hand against the side of the vehicle; Louis pressed into the cold metal as Eddie moved to kiss him again; as though he had been starved of his lips and was now taking his over-due fill.

 

Louis tried to twist them around; wanted Eddie underneath him more than he valued his own life in that moment, but Eddie struggled; pressing him against the door amidst his heated kiss.

 

“Get-- _inside_ ,” Louis gasped as Eddie grabbed Louis’ hand to press against the front of his own pants; earning Louis a hot palm full of Eddie’s already rigid dick.

 

“ _You_ get inside,” Eddie bucked against his touch.

 

Louis twisted; spinning them out of balance where they stumbled into the road; the front bumper his lifeline as he tried to get up.

 

“Fucking hell,” Louis cast, annoyed, as he dragged himself up to perch on the bonnet of the car.

 

Eddie pounced up off the ground and pinned him back against the wet metal; his weight holding them in place until his boots lost traction on the wet ground below and Louis was scrabbling for purchase whilst licking into Eddie’s hot mouth; hands slipping against the curve of the car bonnet and grasping into wet clothing and wet hair desperately.

 

Eddie hitched him back into place; nudging between his thighs to touch him; with concentrated seriousness etching his face as he drew his thumb down the ridge beneath Louis’ zipper.

 

“So _fucking_ stubborn,” Eddie whispered; green eyes flashing to Louis’ in the wet and dark.

 

That was _it_. Louis wasn’t going to stand for _that_. He slithered around until he surged up from the bonnet; firm fingers grasping Eddie’s arm to drag him around the car. Louis threw open the back door and bundled Eddie into the back seat; pushing him down into the leather.

 

“Brand new expensive leather,” Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“C’mere,” Eddie tugged him closer to claw at his shirt; un-buttoning the front and ripping it off quickly.

 

Louis gulped; twisting his under-shirt off to leave him topless. Eddie’s gaze clung to him, dark and reverent but it didn’t last long before Louis was reaching for the tie of his shirt; pulling out the bow and tugging impatiently at the buttons of the sparkly fabric.

 

“This is a fucking menace,” Louis hissed; grabbing the fabric firmly between his fists and yanking hard.

 

Eddie gasped as the fabric tore; the buttons not even dislodged as planned.

 

“Shit, sorry,” Louis winced; stroking the fabric sorrowfully.

 

Eddie shucked the shirt off and pressed Louis’ hands against his crotch.

 

“Just touch me, Will,” he breathed. “Just fucking— _please_ ,” he whispered fervently; pushing his hips against his palms.

 

Louis unfastened Eddie's pants; tugging them off awkwardly in the tiny space; Eddie’s long leg draping over the front seat while Louis dragged his briefs down to his knees with a gasping breath.

 

“Jesus,” he swallowed as Eddie’s thick, hard shaft settled upright between his thighs.

 

“Not quite,” Eddie murmured, biting his lower lip. “ _King_ will do…”

 

“Fuck off,” Louis climbed over him; arms wrapping around his middle to shift him gently into a more comfortable position and once he’d found it; Eddie’s legs curled around him and intertwined with his own.

 

“Fuck sounds good,” Eddie smirked.

 

Louis stared at his mouth, unsure if kissing was still acceptable. He dipped down to suck at his swollen lips anyway; letting out a huff of incredulity when Eddie slanted his mouth to ease into the kiss once more; as though they hadn’t stopped for the time it took them to undress.

 

Eddie could kiss, was the thing. It shouldn’t have been a surprising thing since the man himself boasted about his experience but there was something about his mouth and the way he arched into Louis that felt a little bit un-practiced. It felt a little bit desperate and unbelievably fucking hot. Eddie made soft noises, too. He rubbed up against Louis and gasped when Louis got the angle right to grind their dicks together and he still had too many clothes on but there was the small issue of _lube_. They didn’t _have_ any.

 

And if Louis was going to get his shorts off then there was only one place he wanted his dick to be.

 

“Let me suck you,” Eddie begged between longing kisses to Louis’ mouth; then his jaw and lower; against his neck.

 

Louis shook his head, because that just wasn’t right. If this was going to happen- and it kind of already _was_ \- then he had to be the one giving the pleasure; not taking it. He could never forgive himself if he was accused of taking too much under false pretences. Nobody could blame him for wanting to watch Eddie come, though could they?

 

He wrapped his hand around Eddie’s thick heat and bit his lip. He couldn’t give him a good blow-job. His mouth was nowhere near big enough to take Eddie’s size. He could half-heart it with his hand and he didn’t doubt Eddie would enjoy it, but right now he had a point to prove. He had a fight to win and he was going to use every dirty tactic in the book.

 

“Turn over,” he rasped, shuffling back onto his knees the best he could in the low-roofed car.

 

Eddie paused; hips stuttering mid-air where he arched to rub against him; briefs twisted around his knees still.

 

“What?”

 

Louis blinked, tilting his head.

 

“On your tummy, Juliet…”

 

Eddie stared at him, swollen lips agape.

 

“What—why?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes; lips slipping into a devious grin as he ran his hands over Eddie’s chest; thumbing his peaked nipples sweetly. Eddie made a throaty sound and knocked his head back.

 

“On your _front_ ,” he repeated, more firmly.

 

Eddie blinked at him but twisted; awkwardly re-arranging himself front-down against the seat. He glanced over his shoulder with a concerned pout; the tension leaving his body when Louis stroked his lower back.

 

“Easy now, Sunflower.”

 

Eddie finally began to relax into the seat; hips shifting uncomfortably. His legs were bent up by Louis’ sides when Louis shifted back to make space and then he pressed two firm thumbs into his ass-cheeks and split them open.

 

Eddie’s gasp was swallowed by the crack of lightning; the heavy downpour hitting the roof of the car in a scattered pattern. Louis leaned in and licked; biting his lip as Eddie’s hole clenched up tightly. The material of Eddie’s stretched underwear weakened under the pressure of his thighs pushing open.

 

“Going to do this the hard way, hm?” Louis asked.

 

“Will-“ Eddie swallowed his pleading cry as Louis licked over him again; dipping his tongue into the puckered skin.

 

“You’re going to admit I was right,” Louis breathed. “How long it takes is up to you…”

 

Eddie squirmed and bit into his hand; hiding his flushed face against the car seat as he dismally failed to hold back a whimper.

 

 _Jesus_. Louis was so going to _hell_ for this. He accepted his fate there and then, pressing the breadth of his tongue more firmly against Eddie’s hole.

 

“Oh,” Eddie sighed, happily.

 

“Never done this?” Louis smoothed a hand over the back of his thigh; then upward; over his side and gently, ticklishly down his spine. Eddie shivered with it. “Cold?”

 

“Fuck,” Eddie replied; thick-voiced; and Louis wasn’t sure if it was a request or the only word he could manage in answer to his question, but Eddie didn’t feel cold when Louis caressed his skin again to check.

 

“Do you like to talk?” Louis asked; flicking his tongue a little. He teased a fingertip around his rim; pressing two there to see if they fit.

 

“I like to _listen_ ,” Eddie managed slowly; reminding Louis of his claim to be a good listener. Was that what he meant? That he liked to be talked to during sex? Why hadn’t he mentioned it at the shoot? Louis could have got him hard in seconds.

 

“You’re so fucking infuriating,” Louis whispered softly; kissing his ass-cheek and then sucking a gentle love-bite into the skin; moving to make another one to match on his other ass-cheek. “You need to be _told_ ,” he added decisively.

 

“Not lost,” he begged; fidgeting to get to get onto his knees. Louis held his thighs down in firm hands.

 

Louis got his tongue partly inside him; nudging his fingers into the gap. Eddie melted into the sensation; hips jumping to try and push back but Louis merely bit into his flesh teasingly.

 

“Stop wriggling,” he instructed gently.

 

“Please,” he breathed softly; the tone of his voice silky and sweet in a way Louis hadn’t heard before. That was the second time he’d pleaded for anything and Louis was mindless with the fact that his plea was for something _sexual_. Did he ever say please for anything else?

 

“What do you want?” Louis circled his rim; Eddie’s muscles flexing against his fingers partly inside the tight ring.

 

“More,” Eddie begged.

 

“More?” Louis hummed. “You haven’t admitted you were wrong yet…”

 

“Should have brought a map,” Eddie rushed; apparently fearful he might miss out on _more_ if he didn’t confess immediately.

 

Louis felt his smile grow bolder.

 

“And?”

 

Eddie huffed.

 

Louis twisted his fingers; licking around them. He widened them apart slowly; tongue darting between them. The windows of the car began to fog up; their damp bodies both hot and wet from the rain; sticking uncomfortably to the leather as they shifted. But Louis couldn’t remember a time when he had given someone his tongue and it had been quite this _epic_. The heat of their anger flashed as deeply as the heat of their passion; intense and sharp among the rumbling thunder.

 

“Please,” Eddie whispered as Louis scissored his fingers gently.

 

“I’m waiting,” Louis told him; licking into him among his digits to wet him up; to create the slickness he needed for what Eddie was begging for.

 

“Shouldn’t have gone in the woods,” Eddie choked; rutting against the seat.

 

Louis pushed his tongue against the resistance hard; flicking into flexing heat. He moaned and palmed his own dick roughly; his flickering tongue earning an abandoned cry from the man underneath him.

 

“Want more?” Louis asked.

 

Eddie nodded fervently and Louis slid one finger right in; wriggling his tongue beside it and crooking his digit to hit the spot; the spot he knew that would drive Eddie wild.

 

“Oh, fuck, _yes_!” Eddie gasped. “There! Fucking--- _right_ there!”

 

Louis smiled and kissed his ass-cheek; twisting his second finger beside the first and carefully stroking the spot that had Eddie writhing on the seat.

 

“Will…I’m---I’m- _fuck_ ,” he panted, panicked and Louis soothed him with gentle hands; easing his fingers out and curling arms around him to lay him onto his back.

 

“Come in my mouth,” He instructed; grasping Eddie’s dark-red dick in his fist and pumping just once to test his sensitivity.

 

Eddie gave out a little incredulous breathy noise and Louis leaned in, tightening his mouth around the tip of his dick; Eddie’s hips jumping up as he spurted; thick and sour into Louis’ mouth. It all happened so fast that Louis almost missed the soft, drawn out cry of pleasure from Eddie’s lips as he jolted in receding little pulses; his arched body sagging when he was spent.

 

Louis kept hold of his legs; nuzzling his inner thigh to temper his own pressing need that throbbed painfully in his shorts.

 

Eddie flicked his leg from Louis’ gentle hold; Louis leaning back with a confused frown until Eddie’s toes splayed against the front of his shorts and squeezed; trying to grip at him.

 

It shouldn’t be sexy; it didn’t even feel like much, but Louis was teetering on the edge of a canyon that they hadn’t yet reached and he was diving into the unknown fall below as he closed his eyes and knocked his head back; grasping Eddie’s ankle to hold his foot steady over his heated dick. Eddie’s briefs lay used and rumpled around his calves; a sign of how Louis had just ruined him and it was enough to have him hitting the pinnacle of his desire.

 

“Fuck!” He hissed as he spasmed; releasing painfully hard into his underwear with gasped cries.

 

When he opened his eyes, Eddie was blinking at him with a knowing, smug grin.

 

“Foot fetish?” he questioned in a deep, ruined voice.

 

Louis swallowed.

 

Because… _Shit_. _Holy shit_. He shouldn’t have let that happen. He shouldn’t have let _any_ of it happen; least of all his tongue and fingers inside of Eddie in a way he couldn’t erase from his memories easily.

 

Eddie seemed to sense the change in atmosphere; uncertainty flashing across his face.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Willy,” he mumbled. “What’s a rim between co-stars?”

 

Louis frowned; reaching out to help Eddie shift as he tried to co-ordinate his legs; lazily dragging his underwear upwards.

 

“I just—I think it was a mistake,” he swallowed; guilt creeping over his skin in a prickly flush.

 

“You know,” Eddie licked his swollen lips; brows furrowed as he tried to organise his naked body into the seat more comfortably; struggling to separate himself from Louis in the lack of space. “I’m not sure what it’s supposed to feel like,” he mused. “But it wasn’t _that_ good.”

 

Louis’ eyes flared; lips parting in sudden affrontation. His worst fear was not being good enough; not matching up to the bed-partners Eddie might have had before and hearing it was unfairly painful. Louis shouldn’t care that he was the first man to lick Eddie out. He shouldn’t care that even Eddie- _who had never been rimmed before_ \- knew that Louis wasn’t the best he could get.

 

And yet he _did_ care. He cared too fucking much and his glasses were bent and his ear-piece was broken so he didn’t even have the back-up he so desperately needed.

 

“Fuck you, Eddie,” he blinked away the hot tears threatening the backs of his eyes.

 

“You wish,” Eddie flashed back, fastening his pants. “Not sure you’d be any good though judging by that performance…”

 

It stung. Louis jolted at the physical slap of rejection; reasoning that _he_ was the one who had told Eddie it shouldn’t have happened. It didn’t make it any easier as he accepted the truth. In fact; nothing had changed; had it? Eddie was still a self-satisfied, sex-obsessive narcissistic asshole and Louis was still a nerdy little boy playing a very dangerous game; well out of his league.

 

He quietly picked up his discarded shirt and slipped it back on, climbing into the passenger seat from the back of the car where he folded his arms and looked into the foot-well.

 

“Ready?” Eddie asked as he joined him a moment later; clambering into the driving seat.

 

Louis didn’t have to look at him to know he had pulled on his undershirt in replacement for the shirt Louis had torn. He didn’t reply as Eddie revved the engine and finally pulled away.


	6. Chapter 6

“You still not talking?” Eddie plopped down onto the sofa beside Louis; his hair a fluffy, dry mess and—

 

_Were they…?_

 

Louis stared. He had glasses on. Big, tortoise-shell framed ones. He also had on a yellow t-shirt with a rainbow arched on the front punctuated with two fluffy clouds. And a pair of mis-matched purple, velour pants with a buttoned fly.

 

He refused to be drawn. He set his gaze back to his magazine.

 

“C’mon, moody,” Eddie rested an arm along the back of the sofa; walking his fingers along Louis’ arm cutely. “You can’t still be mad?”

 

“I think you’ll find I can be mad _forever_ ,” Louis snapped.

 

“Ah!” Eddie beamed. “He speaks!”

 

Louis huffed. _Fuck_. He couldn’t even ignore the idiot properly, he was so fucked up.

 

“Why are you wearing glasses?” Louis accused.

 

“You like nerdy boys in glasses, right?” Eddie appealed. “Figured it might sweeten you up.”

 

“Don’t bother,” Louis warned.

 

Eddie rolled his eyes, knocking his head back on the sofa.

 

“My contacts got ruined in the rain, if you _must_ know,” his nostrils flared. “I have to wear my glasses, I only brought one pair of contacts with me.”

 

Louis flicked his eyes over him again. Eddie had been putting on a _cute_ act since they arrived at the hotel- around two hours later than scheduled. They’d had massages and Jacuzzi’s booked in which Louis had declined to attend but Eddie had come back from his activities looking refreshed and—well, attractively _soft_.

 

He was curled up now beside Louis with a dimpled grin and pleading eyes.

 

“Come on, Willy,” he winked. “I’m hungry.”

 

“Order room service then,” Louis prickled.

 

“I want to see the restaurant,” Eddie whined. “And this is supposed to be for both of us. Do you really want to go into our first couple’s session and we haven’t even _eaten_ together?”

 

Louis huffed and re-adjusted his magazine in his lap.

 

“Pretty sure when I tell them why I couldn’t stomach food around you, they’ll understand,” he quipped.

 

Eddie slipped his arm down off the top of the sofa and nudged Louis with it.

 

“Come on, Willy.”

 

“Piss off.”

 

“Please?”

 

“I’ll be sick,” Louis accused. “Is that what you want?”

 

Eddie lifted his head; eyes clinging to Louis for a long moment; lips pouted and brow furrowed worriedly.

 

“Alright,” he conceded, but his voice sounded forced and husky. He shifted to get up. “I’ll be downstairs if you decide to join me,” he added, hovering.

 

Louis resolutely stared at the text in his magazine until Eddie moved away.

 

//

 

The restaurant was quiet. It was fairly late on a Friday to be eating and Louis supposed most guests might eat out and only come back at the end of their night.

 

Eddie was seated alone in a corner booth; napkin flapped out and settled over his thighs. He was beaming at the waiter, but Louis knew his smiles. He knew it was strained at the edges and whatever had happened; and however bad Louis felt about _letting_ those things happen; he recognised that none of that was Eddie’s fault.

 

He was just a young guy at the end of the day, he couldn’t possibly know the effect he was having on Louis or the internal war Louis was having with his conscience as a result. His assignments had never been this hard, before.

 

He sighed.

 

Eddie deserved a relaxing weekend away. Ben was an asshole and if Louis could give him just a few days of youthful freedom, then…well, he’d have to suck up the rest. He moved into the room with a clearance of his throat.

 

“Table for one, Sir?” The greeter, Ethan, asked.

 

“Actually, I’m with him,” Louis pointed towards Eddie who was looking over at him, mildly confused. “We just got engaged,” he lied outrageously. “He loves cake,” he whispered. “Do you have something you can bring out after our mains?”

 

Ethan nodded and smiled. “Of course we do, come this way, Sir,” he led Louis to the booth.

 

Louis paused, as Ethan smiled at Eddie.

 

“Congratulations, Sir,” he beamed. “Your fiancé has arrived to eat with you, after all…”

 

Louis lifted his brows, offering Eddie a wink.

 

“My stomach settled,” he said. “Guess I was feeling hungry after all…”

 

Eddie stared at him for a long moment and then shifted; clearing his throat.

 

“Come on then, love,” he patted the space beside him. “Help me choose a starter…”

 

Louis nodded at Ethan and slid onto the seat.

 

He glanced at Eddie.

 

“Don’t be sick,” Eddie told him; pinching his lower lip between his thumb and finger as he concentrated on the menu. “And fiancé?” He added with a rough chuckle. “What?”

 

Louis shrugged.

 

“You get given free stuff if you’re engaged.”

 

“Right,” Eddie drawled. “Just using me to get a free dinner then, is that it?”

 

Louis twisted his lips, wondering if Eddie was angry at him again. Minutes ago, he had been sweet-talking him into coming to dinner and now that he was here, Eddie seemed to want to be alone.

 

“Were you chatting up the waiter?” Louis wondered, eyeing the small but muscled man keeping an eye on them from the bar.

 

Eddie gave him a bemused look.

 

“Jealous again, kitten?” He purred.

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“No, I’m just—if you’d rather eat alone then I can just go.”

 

“You really think that guy would even look at me when I’m dressed like this?” Eddie asked ruefully.

 

Louis flicked his eyes over Eddie’s slim body; shoulders tightening his t-shirt over his back and thighs filling his purple pants nicely.

 

“Be an idiot if he didn’t,” Louis muttered, more to himself.

 

“I’m having the steak,” Eddie announced then. “And a strong drink,” he decided.

 

Louis huffed a bit.

 

“Fine, let’s get drunk, Heddie,” he mused.

 

“I will, thanks,” Eddie replied smugly.

 

“Right,” Louis nodded.

 

_Right._

_//_

“The theme of today’s session is… _Appreciation_.”

 

Louis stared at the older woman heading up the room filled with five couples; he and Eddie having snatched the comfy sofa thanks to Eddie’s unusual keenness to arrive early.

 

They were sharing a room of course. Ben had booked them into the resort as a couple and Louis’ little lie about them getting engaged had filtered through the hotel staff so quickly, that by breakfast they were being offered champagne.

 

Of course, Eddie had indulged in the cake Louis had ordered for him, too. Had indulged with a wicked tongue and seductive eyes and Louis didn’t want to remember any more about the evening other than that he had _survived_ it.

 

After breakfast they’d been coaxed into a furious game of ping-pong; a game which Eddie was clearly a natural at since he had won two out of three against Louis. Mainly because Louis had been distracted by the curls forming in Eddie's hair the longer they played. Louis still hadn’t gotten over the loss.

 

He snorted then, when the session leader seemed to think he could find things about Eddie he _liked._

“One word for each letter of your partner's name,” Kendra was saying. “ _Both_ names,” she added with an evil smirk or a smile; Louis wasn’t sure which.

 

“W-I-L-L-D-A-R-L-I-N-G,” Eddie murmured as he wrote out the letters on the page in front of him.

 

Louis pencilled out Eddie’s name on his own pad.

 

“Often times in relationships, we take our partner for granted,” Kendra said. “It can be easy to get frustrated or bored with a relationship but underneath those _perfectly_ _normal_ feelings; there’s often a basis of positive emotions which get overlooked. This morning we’ll work on your lists and get you to express some to your other half…”

 

Eddie side-eyed Louis as he began to write.

 

“No cheating,” he stated in his deep voice.

 

“As if I would,” Louis huffed.

 

Eddie blinked at him. He’d tied the blue bandana into his hair and had put on a cropped jumper with his high-waisted pants. Louis didn’t want to sneak his fingers under the hem of that knitted, soft-looking top. Not at _all_.

 

Louis looked down at his half-worked list.

 

E- Endearing

D- Dynamic

D- Dick?

I – Infuriating

E –

T-Tease

W-

I –

S-Sensitive

T-

 

“Try and think of something _deeper_ ,” Kendra pointed to Louis’ ‘tease’ and smiled kindly. “What is it about his sensitive side that you like?” She asked.

 

Eddie’s head snapped up at that, forcing Louis to roll his eyes.

 

“I was just thinking of words beginning with S if I’m honest…”

 

Eddie narrowed his eyes at him and went back to his own work sheet.

 

“Now, Will, I’m sure that’s not the case,” Kendra soothed. “To work through any issues in your relationship you need to be prepared to be open about how you feel…”

 

Louis snorted, flicking his gaze back over his list and realising that he was struggling. He watched Kendra move onto the next couple; whose lists she praised and read out as a good example. Louis sighed and bit his lip in concentration.

 

“Dick?” Eddie queried, having sidled beside Louis on the seat. “You really like my dick?”

 

Louis huffed.

 

“Like you said, who doesn’t?”

 

Eddie settled a hand over Louis’ knee.

 

“I mean, I put yours on the list, too so…”

 

Eddie flashed him his own list.

 

W-Witty

I –Infuriating

L-Lovely eyelashes

L-

D-dick

A-

R-

L-

I –

N-

G-Goofy

 

“Goofy?” Louis spluttered. “That’s not a compliment.”

 

“It is,” Eddie dimpled. “I happen to like that about you.”

 

“We both put infuriating,” Louis mused.

 

“Passion can often appear as anger,” Kendra inserted. “It’s not hopeless if you argue a lot. The question is; how do you resolve those disagreements?”

 

Louis flicked his eyes away; flashes of bare skin and hot kisses filling his mind. Eddie shot Kendra a naughty smile; winking and clicking his teeth as he curled his tongue up against his teeth.

 

“Uh, we usually just fuck,” he answered plainly.

 

The rest of the group laughed at his candid response. Kendra smiled.

 

“Well, it’s one way of diffusing tension,” she supposed. “But you’re not really _connecting_. You both need to spend a little more time _talking_ so that you understand where the other is coming from. Sex is only putting off your true feelings,” she counselled.

 

Eddie nodded and went back to his page.

 

“You think I’m sensitive?” He asked when Kendra had moved away; leaning into Louis’ side to sneak a look at his list again.

 

Louis flicked his eyes over Eddie’s face.

 

“Yeah. I do,” he nodded.

 

Eddie’s eyes stayed on him, tongue slipping over his lower lip as his gaze dropped to Louis’ mouth.

 

“I put _lips_ ,” he pointed to his addition. “You have a nice mouth.”

 

Louis’ eyes immediately settled on Eddie’s mouth on instinct.

 

“ _You’ve_ got the perfect mouth, actually,” Louis returned. “And I added _willing_ ,” he murmured.

 

“Because I’m willing to do anything?” Eddie arched a brow.

 

“I couldn’t write _open_ ,” Louis defended himself gently. “But you’ve always made me feel welcome and it’s-it’s nice,” he breathed out. “It helped knowing you weren’t judging me. Well, apart from you know,” he rolled his eyes.

 

Eddie splayed his fingers back on louis’ thigh.

 

“Nice dick, remember?” He pointed to the ‘D’ on his page.

 

“But shit at everything else,” Louis muttered through gritted teeth.

 

Eddie tilted his page; slipping his arm around Louis’ waist.

 

W-Witty

I –Infuriating

L-Lovely eyelashes

L-little J

D- ~~dick~~ dependable

A-approachable

R-Responsible

L-lips

I –

N-nice

G-Goofy

 

Louis let his eyes graze the page; huffing when he got to ‘little’ with a smiley face beside it.

 

“Whatever,” he swallowed. “Dependable and responsible. Basically, I’m boring as fuck.”

 

Eddie smiled; nosing against Louis’ cheek; breath casting out in a puff against his ear as he tried not to laugh.

 

“I mean, you _are_ fuckable,” he murmured.

 

“What’s going on over here, then?” Kendra’s voice pierced the moment, causing Eddie to duck away with a smug grin.

 

“Nothing exciting,” Louis showed her his pad.

 

E- Endearing

D- Dynamic

D- ~~Dick?~~ Dimples

I – Infuriating

E –Ego

T-Tease

W-willing

I –Intimate

S-Sensitive

T-

 

“This is looking really very good,” she nodded. “You’ve got his dimples in there, something that clearly you find attractive physically; and then you’ve added intimacy which is reassuring. Eddie, do you feel intimate with Will?”

 

Eddie smirked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Kendra flicked her eyes between the pair.

 

“If you talk about your emotions as much as you do about sex, you’ll both have a _much_ stronger bond,” she enthused.

 

Louis made a face behind her back; earning a snort from Eddie.

 

“Let's talk about _sex_ ,” Eddie stated.

 

“Think we do enough of that at work,” Louis mused.

 

“I mean, we don’t really _talk_ …”

 

“So, as part of your weekend objectives, I want each of you to organise a date,” Kendra cut in. “You have two date nights and you can experience what your partner truly likes to do and hopefully you’ll find some common ground,” she suggested. “And if not then we can discuss it on Monday morning before you head home…”

 

“I’ll take you out tonight, Willy,” Eddie quickly offered with a wink.

 

Louis scribbled one last word on his list; one that felt odd on the page but was true none the less. _Trust_. As strange as it was to realise it; he trusted Eddie. He just hoped his gut feeling was right.

 

//

 

“What should I wear?” Louis asked as he flicked through his meagre choice of clothes; not entirely expecting to be sent on date-nights as part of their therapy.

 

Eddie strolled into the bedroom from the bathroom naked; towelling his hair dry.

 

“Something smart,” he replied.

 

“Obviously, but are we like—”

 

“Ah!” Eddie lifted a hand. “Don’t spoil my surprise, Willy.”

 

Louis sighed and pulled out his navy-blue suit. The trousers were tapered rather than flared like the fashion but Louis was too short to suit flared trousers so he stuck to what looked good.

 

“Well,” Eddie’s voice sounded soft and low as Louis laid the out-fit on the bed; wearing only his briefs. “You could come like that,” he invited and the way Eddie said _come_ had Louis’ body feeling tight already.

 

Louis looked at him, letting his gaze wander over every damp; bare inch of him before dipping to his own feet.

 

“Think I look better with clothes on personally,” he smiled wanly; reaching for the hanger to unclip his trousers.

 

Eddie’s hands smoothed over his sides before he could finish the task.

 

“I don’t,” he professed, green eyes intent on Louis’.

 

Louis dipped his gaze to Eddie’s chest, shifting awkwardly as Eddie's hands roamed his back and he hated the way his body was attuned to the man without his brain's permission to acquiesce. His skin began to buzz at the contact; the tight muscles in his shoulders began to ease.

 

“Hmm,” Eddie moved them a little; like they were slow-dancing.

 

Louis sighed; fluttering his lashes shut and curling his hands around Eddie’s arms to hold onto him while he caressed him with warm palms; the brush of his rings setting off little excited sparks across his skin.

 

“Kitten,” Eddie murmured huskily; squeezing Louis’ ass-cheek gently. “So sweet for me.”

 

Louis was tugged out of his lull; chin lifting to look Eddie in the eye and what he found there was unexpected. Eddie’s soft, endeared smile and scorching body pressed close to him not seeking anything more than the simple exchange of touch.

 

Louis lifted a hand to brush his wet curls back; thumb ghosting his cheek and running along his jaw to test the growth of his stubble there; only a day’s worth of prickle present.

 

“Like what you see?” Eddie asked.

 

Louis swallowed and dropped his hand.

 

“We should get ready,” he breathed. “I need to-er-I have a call to make…”

 

Eddie released him with a knowing hum; patting Louis’ behind fondly as he twisted in his arms.

 

It wasn’t until Louis got to the door that he remembered he needed to put clothes on to use the hotel lobby telephone.

 

He got dressed quickly and told Eddie to meet him down there.

//

 

“Where’ve you been, Tommo?”

 

“My ear-piece broke,” Louis sighed into the receiver. “Got lost in the woods.”

 

“Is that code for something sexy?” Niall teased. “Got lost in the woods?”

 

“Exactly what else could it mean, Neil?” Louis spat.

 

“I dunno like…have you fucked him yet?”

 

“Why are you talking as though that’s my objective?” Louis lamented; flicking his eyes around the foyer as he leaned casually into the phone booth. “Have you forgotten I’m here to crack the crime of the century?”

 

“Personally mate, I ship you and this porn dude. I think you make a good couple.”

 

“Aside from the fact he’s a potential paedophile,” Louis mused.

 

“Oh yeah,” Niall’s voice went distant; then came back with a rush of air. “We got into the Valley house,” he shared.

 

Louis stood up a bit straighter; heart thudding.

 

“And?”

 

“And it’s clean,” Niall confirmed. “No photographs, nothing on his computers, no kinky dress-up gear…sorry to disappoint you Tommo. I think he’s a straight sex kind of guy after all…”

 

Louis rolled his eyes; his heart beat calming down slightly.

 

“Not _completely_ straight I hope,” he murmured.

 

“Told ya!” Niall chirped. “I knew it. You _do_ want to sex him.”

 

Louis blinked away his wistfulness; sucking in a breath to fill his aching chest.

 

“Yeah well, it doesn’t matter much what I want, does it? I’m here to do a job.”

 

“You wouldn’t be the first Fed to fall for a criminal, Lou,” Niall soothed.

 

“Thanks,” Louis smirked. “I think.”

 

“But if he’s _not_ a criminal then…”

 

Goosebumps settled across his skin. He felt the longing twist in his gut. When he flicked his eyes up, Eddie was there in the foyer; waiting patiently by the front pillar; hands slipped into his trouser pockets. He looked stunning. Louis didn’t know how he had come to earn the concerned green gaze that Eddie emanated across the room to him; but the worry was there; creasing his face.

 

Eddie just might be as insecure as Louis; in entirely different ways.

 

“What about Des? Anything more on his Cuban hideaway?” Louis checked.

 

“The official line is that he’s taking an extended holiday after dealing with the Equal Rights Amendment.”

 

“And the unofficial line? Louis mused.

 

“The indiscretion that Dexter mentioned might not be with a  colleague after all. There's rumours he's been at it with an underage girl,” Niall supplied. “Let’s hope your man isn’t the one supplying them.”

 

“He hates his Dad,” Louis turned his back to Eddie to murmur.

 

“Could be a cover,” Niall suggested. “For your sake I hope it isn't.”

 

“Alright, I have to go now,” he prompted.

 

“Oh, gotcha,” Niall said. “Check in soon.”

 

“Will do.”

 

“And Louis…you’re a man, not a machine,” Niall said before he hung up.

 

Louis settled the receiver in the cradle and began walking; his eyes set intently on the man waiting pensively in the hall. Eddie had changed into tight, black, silky-looking flares; the material hugging the curves of his thighs and ass and a darker side-stripe lengthening his legs. The silver, starred platforms were on his feet and a ruffled, delicate-looking shirt was buttoned up over his torso; the cuffs long and fitted over his wrists; the fabric again fitted to his body.

 

Over his arm was his white, cropped leather jacket and his hair had been softened with product; but Louis couldn’t help looking confused when he got closer and suddenly clocked that Eddie wasn’t wearing his big frames.

 

“Where's the glasses?” He asked; trying and failing not to sound breathy.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“I can see without them.”

 

Louis blinked patiently.

 

“How well?”

 

Eddie smiled. “Pretty well.”

 

Louis tilted his head.

 

“Go and get your glasses, Eddie.”

 

Eddie rolled his eyes.

 

“They don’t go with my outfit.”

 

“I don’t care. We’re not leaving until you can see properly.”

 

Eddie huffed and stamped a platform-booted foot.

 

“Fine, _I’ll_ get them,” Louis turned and marched for the elevator, returning with the frames.

 

He carefully slipped them into place. Eddie glared at him from behind the lenses. Louis gave him a tiny smile.

 

“Right, let’s do this,” Louis mused as they headed out of the hotel.

 

//

 

The views across the Canyon were indescribable.

 

Louis had been once or twice to the National Park; but he’d never been in a helicopter. Eddie, it seemed, was keen to impress.

 

Once the flight around the Canyon was complete, they landed at The Grand Canyon Lodge for dinner; a rustic but luxurious resort. He was glad he picked the navy suit; considering how most of the patrons were dressed.

 

“Hey, kitten,” Eddie’s hand caught his and held it lightly. “You look amazing, did I mention that?”

 

Louis sent him a withering glare.

 

“Around the same time you shot my technique to pieces, maybe,” he smiled tightly.

 

He huffed as he sat down. He was supposed to be over it by now. Eddie had apparently forgiven him for his own unkind words and Louis knew he had to give him the same courtesy. But it was difficult. Eddie looked like sin and Niall was right; Louis was a man with hot blood and way too much knowledge of how Eddie tasted and what he did when Louis flicked his tongue into his mouth. How was he supposed to drop his armour and let Eddie see inside when he already felt weak?

 

“We don’t have to stay,” Eddie said eventually when Louis just stared at his menu. “Do you want to go back?”

 

 _Back_? Louis didn’t think there _was_ a way back. He swallowed; lashes hitting his cheeks.

 

“No, I’m good,” he assured; only half a lie, really. “Let’s talk about something fun.”

 

“Clowns?” Eddie suggested with a brow-lift. “They’re fun.”

 

“They’re fucking freaky,” Louis argued.

 

“Scared of clowns and the dark, right…”

 

“I’m not scared of the dark,” Louis snapped his head up, meeting Eddie’s amused expression.

 

“Oh, you’re not? Then what was all that in the woods, hm?”

 

“That was—it was…” Louis tapered off; realising he couldn’t lie. “Yeah, alright it might have been a little bit of concern over the lack of light in that _particular_ area.”

 

Eddie laughed, loud and stark.

 

“You said we’d get _murdered_ , Louis,” he reminded gently. “That’s more than a little phobia.”

 

“Thankfully I can usually avoid serial-killer hide-outs,” he reasoned.

 

“You don’t have to worry, love,” Eddie reached across the table to touch his hand. “I can take care of you.”

 

Louis narrowed his lashes at the giant-sized marshmallow sitting opposite him and scoffed.

 

“Alright, Juliet.”

 

Eddie merely pursed his lips and looked away; lids falling halfway over his eyes.

 

“Can we just eat?” Eddie asked. “Eat and be nice?”

 

 _Be nice._ That had been Niall’s catastrophic advice to Louis all along.

 

“Be nice,” Louis dug deep. “Okay, I can do nice.”

 

“Please,” Eddie smiled wanly.

 

“How’s Robin?” Louis asked then, out of the blue.

 

Eddie glanced at him.

 

“He’s fine. He thinks we’ll either kill each other or fall in love with each other by the end of the weekend.”

 

_Be nice._

“Pretty sure I’m resistant to your charm,” Louis mused. “It’s impossible to fall in love in three days anyway.”

 

“I fell in love with Zayn in three _hours_ ,” Eddie commented.

 

“Well, he’s unfairly attractive,” Louis sniffed. “Should think _everyone_ falls in love with him.”

 

Eddie sipped his wine nonchalantly.

 

“Did you?” His eyes flicked over Louis’ face as Louis looked up.

 

“Can’t say I did, sorry. Were you looking to set us up?”

 

“No,” Eddie huffed.

 

“Oh, you want him all for yourself,” Louis nodded.

 

“No, I’ve been there and done that, thank you,” he replied acidly.

 

“No need to be crass…”

 

“I’m just saying that it’s over between us. It—it was nice while it lasted but then it had to end and I love him. I always will. But not like _that_ ,” Eddie confessed softly.

 

“Yeah once it’s over there’s no going back,” Louis chimed in sympathetically.

 

“So, what’s your big love lost story?” Eddie wondered.

 

Louis choked on his beer.

 

“Er, no, don’t think so, Heddie.”

 

“Oh come on, you know about me and Zayn. And William,” he added. “The guy in College,” he added when Louis frowned.

 

“His name was William?” Louis choked.

 

Eddie smiled.

 

“Yeah, seems all the William’s are pretty, hm?”

 

“I told you,” Louis by-passed the comment. “I haven’t been in love yet.”

 

“There must have been _someone_ ,” Eddie insisted.

 

Louis nodded; rolling his eyes.

 

“Okay, there might have been this _one_ guy…”

 

“Just the one?” Eddie teased.

 

“I was a film geek in high school and all through College,” Louis confessed. “I _may_ have blowed the audio guy to get priority use of the equipment. _May_ have,” he repeated with a smirk.

 

“What do I get if I blow you?” Eddie asked openly; eyes dipping to Louis’ chest as he licked his teeth.

 

Louis blinked.

 

“The same in return?” He murmured in a confused state of sudden awareness; heartbeat kicking up underneath his ribs.

 

_Fuck. Why had he said that?_

 

“Sounds like a deal to me,” Eddie nodded. “Can we go and make it happen?”

 

Louis shouldn’t be getting up to leave. He shouldn’t be reaching for Eddie’s hand and twining their fingers just to be able to run his thumb over the thick metal bands of his rings. He shouldn’t be leading him towards the elevator to take them to the roof-top heli-pad where their ride was waiting.

 

“Fuck you,” Eddie panted as Louis pressed him into the elevator wall.

 

“I’m not a bottom,” Louis reminded; hands running eagerly over Eddie’s ass as he tiptoed to steal a kiss from his lips.

 

“I hate you;” Eddie huffed out weakly; breath catching and heart beating hard against Louis’ chest as they wrapped together; mouths meshing with excruciating precision. Louis wanted to _feel_ it. Wanted to suck on his bottom lip and lick the bow on his top lip. He wanted to kiss so slowly that Eddie might just lose breath and hitch another in while their mouths were open; tongues cautious to join the game.

 

“Hate you too,” Louis tightened his hold and bumped Eddie’s back to the wall; squeezing his ass tightly as he pushed between his thighs.

 

“Wantyou,” Eddie muttered as Louis sucked a kiss into his jaw; teeth biting sharply into his skin. “Oh, _fuck_.”

 

Louis sucked another bruise beneath it; nosing along his throat to search for new skin.

 

“Hey B-Buttercup,” Eddie stammered; trying to roll away. “The door-the doors are open…”

 

Louis ground his hips slowly between Eddie’s thighs, hands clasping the meat of his ass as he lifted his chin; wanting nothing more than to kiss Eddie’s puffy lips some more. Eddie stared at him, lashes fluttering; lips parted and body taut under Louis’ hands. Louis wondered if Eddie would let him suck him off right there; with the chopper pilot watching. He probably didn’t want to find out.

 

He gently untangled Eddie from his arms; pressing his hand to his lower back to lead him out of the elevator and onto the roof.

 

//

 

The corridor to their room was too long. Far too long. Louis gripped Eddie's ass and hustled him up against the wall, mouth sucking hotly at his skin.

 

The shirt was difficult to un-button. Louis was tempted to rip it, but he didn’t want to ruin Eddie's entire wardrobe just because he was too fucking eager to undress him decently.

 

_Fuck._

He dipped to his knees; Eddie’s shirt tugged out of his pants and half unbuttoned for his probing digits but Louis' hands itched to be elsewhere.

 

There was nothing _decent_ about the man in front of him. Nothing at all. The way his big, strong dick curved upwards in his shiny pants was bordering on filthy. If a camera was present they'd be making the perfect porno.

“I’m supposed to blowing _you_ ,” Eddie panted; fingers in Louis' hair.

Louis pressed his cheek against the burning ridge of Eddie's arousal; rubbing his own flushed skin with a hum of appreciation.

 

“Can’t promise it’ll be any good,” he muttered as he went about unfastening his trousers.

 

“Will...shouldn’t we um,” Eddie gestured limply towards their room door; further down the hall.

 

Louis paused from tugging down his waistband.

 

“Afraid we might be seen?” Louis wondered.

 

 _He_ was the one who should be scared. The hotel could have security cameras and if it came to it; the evidence of his fall from grace was mounting heavily against him.

 

Eddie stilled, a breath sucked into his lungs as he lifted his chin; eyelids squeezing shut as he swallowed back a weak sound in his throat; a sound he obviously didn’t want Louis to hear.

 

“Fucking hell. You _like_ it,” Louis accused.

 

Eddie bit his bottom lip and whimpered. His whole body quivered with it and Louis couldn’t help the way he gentled his touch; cupping the backs of Eddie’s thighs as he nosed at his heat.

 

“So big, _King_ ,” he murmured.  “Want you to be loud,” he added with a smirk.

 

“Can't,” Eddie whispered, looking down at him; his long fringe falling in curls over his forehead. 

 

Louis bit his lip

 

“No underwear,” He berated “Naughty.”

 

“Pants too tight,” Eddie rumbled; reduced to limited vocabulary once more.

 

Louis wrapped his small hand around his thickness and guided his dick away from his body carefully. He took what he could in his mouth; tightening his hand around his base.

 

“Fuck,” Eddie’s thighs flexed, knees weakening.

 

“Can’t hear you,” Louis looked up to watch; Eddie’s lips already swollen from biting them alone.

 

Would Louis get to kiss him again? Get to feel him squirm underneath his body and buck up into his hand? Every moment felt like their last; precious and desperate and intense.

 

“What do I call you?” Eddie asked on a shaky voice.

 

If Eddie was hinting at the _Daddy_ culture that was becoming popular; Louis didn’t want to take him up on it. He’d heard Eddie call Diamond that; a man he clearly _did_ regard as some kind of father figure and having met Robin; Louis definitely didn’t want to be reminded of _family._

“My name,” he breathed before running his tongue over the pulsing vein running underside Eddie's dick.

 

He grasped Eddie’s thighs as he weakened; sagging against the wall.

 

“Will,” he gasped; arching his hips to press himself into his mouth. “Can we go inside? Please,” he begged when Louis ignored him.

 

“Louder,” Louis slid his length down against his cheek; nosing against his skin and swallowing around him; fluttering his tongue to force Eddie to comply.

 

“Will!” He yelped. “Fuck, please!”

 

The distinct padding of footsteps and the subsequent fidgeting of a door-lock had Louis shooting up off the ground; Eddie’s tugged-down flares hastily dragged up over his thighs while Louis pinned him to the wall with a hot kiss; fingers lost among his sweaty curls.

 

The sound of a shocked gasp was followed by a disgusted tut; the command to “Get a room!” spurring them to move along the hall.

 

Louis didn’t dare look back at the guest; too hard to care if they reported him to the Manager. Eddie was stumbling over his own feet and clinging to him for balance.

 

Louis guided him into the room and hauled him onto the bed.

He worked his fingers over the remaining shirts buttons and peeled it back; nudging between Eddie’s parted thighs to reach. He gently pushed the material back to his shoulders and leaned over to kiss his skin; chest first, tongue flicking over his nipples and lips dragging down his torso to his belly.

 

“I-I can't-" Eddie begged on a thick throat; face contorting and body strained.

Louis licked his happy trail.

 

“Try,” Louis whispered, fingers unfurling from his waist to drag the clinging material back down his long legs. “Baby, look at you...”

 

_Baby?_

The word hung between them; Eddie’s blown, glassy eyes fixing on him almost vulnerably and Louis’ reticent gaze avoiding his face; focusing on his body instead.

 

He slid to his knees at the foot of the bed, turning his face against his thigh; this time to brush his bristle against Eddie’s tanned skin.

 

“Asshole,” Eddie panted oh-so-softly from the bed.

 

Louis circled his chin more deliberately in the apex of his thighs.

 

“ _Fuck_ _you_ ,” Eddie gasped.

 

Louis took him in hand again, licking over his tip.

 

“However you want it,” he promised.

 

Eddie leaned up a bit on the bed; hand grasping for purchase and finally gripping Louis' jacket and the most Louis had managed to do was loosen his tie.

 

Eddie shivered as the silk tail of it slithered over his skin while he pulled Louis up and towards him; his blow-job forgotten.

 

“C'mere,” Eddie begged lowly; wrapping his hand around Louis' on his dick and shifting them together with another gasp. “On me,” he muttered and Louis assumed Eddie meant he wanted _Louis_ on him, so he pressed his body against him as he quickened his hand.

 

“Good?” Louis wondered, eyes trailing over Eddie's furrowed face; lips parted in utter bliss.

 

“Yeah...like that... _just_ like that...”

 

Louis wondered if Eddie knew how _needy_ He was. How utterly unlike his porn-King status he became when he was truly in the throes of passion. He wondered if Eddie would let him kiss him _now;_ while his eyes were screwed shut and his legs were quivering with his impending release.

 

He wondered if Eddie would notice the way he came undone in an unexpected flash; watching him strain for his high, Louis' orgasm hitting him like a freight train as he pushed down hard; rutting Eddie against the bed.

 

Eddie's fingers clasping into the back of his hair and his soft, weak, whispered ‘ _fuck_ _you_ ' may have been a sign that he knew but Louis was too wrapped up in the way Eddie cried out; loud enough for the whole corridor to hear, his sticky splash of semen hitting Louis' hand as Eddie's fell away; arms reached above his head as he gently shimmered with the last moments of his orgasm.

 

Louis struggled to catch his breath; Eddie clutched in his arms as he slowly; fearfully returned to reality.

 

 _Oh fuck_. He’d done it _again_.

 

 

//

 

Eddie was curled up on the double bed; a pair of thick socks pulled loosely onto his feet; his thick, cropped jumper over another tiny pair of shorts that Louis hadn’t seen before. He was hugging a pillow; a faint dimple in his cheek and Louis possibly wanted to be in the place of the pillow; with Eddie’s arms looped around him. _Possibly_. It couldn’t be proven.

 

He sat up in the bed with his arms wrapped around his legs; cheek pressed to his knee just watching; wondering how he was meant to wake up tomorrow and pretend like none of it had happened.

 

It hadn’t felt awkward _afterwards_. They’d gotten up slowly to shower, Eddie sliding an arm around his waist while Louis helped him to the bathroom and when they’d laid down to sleep, Eddie had pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.

 

But it was just another mistake in a long line that kept occurring. Louis was a weak man, had been from the start and he needed Niall, for fuck’s sake. He needed Niall to shout at him and remind him what he was there to do.

 

He carefully got up off the bed; checking he didn’t wake Eddie as he pulled on some clothes and headed towards the door.

 

Morning would come soon enough.

 

//

 

“I blowed him.”

 

Niall’s wet chuckle trickled some relief into Louis’ stomach.

 

“Okay but did you at least ask him about the kiddie pics?” Niall joked.

 

“Not exactly,” he derided.

 

Niall paused, clearing his throat.

 

“Are you okay?” His friend asked; surprisingly concerned.

 

“Apart from facing instant dismissal, I’m fine,” Louis quipped.

 

“They can’t fire you when you’re in the middle of a job,” Niall reasoned. “Might as well get it out of your system then break it off when you leave.”

 

A sudden heavy weight slammed into Louis’ chest. He had to _leave_. Eventually, not today, but _soon_. And fuck it if that hadn’t dawned on him before.

 

“Yeah,” he rasped, struggling for air. “I guess it’s a good exit strategy…”

 

“We were gonna go with an overdose.”

 

“I don’t do drugs,” Louis pointed out.

 

“Well there’s a lot you don’t know about a person,” Niall quipped; reminding Louis exactly how deep he was getting.

 

“He wasn’t there when I woke up,” Louis shared then, softly.

 

“He’s probably off flirting with the staff,” Niall dismissed. “Did you check the golf-course?”

 

“No, I didn’t check there,” Louis admitted.

 

“There you go. Get a buggy and go fetch him. He’ll appreciate the romantic gesture…”

 

“Fuck off,” Louis scoffed.

 

“Hey…be careful, Tommo,” Niall said then, soft and concerned.

 

“Will do,” Louis promised but it felt like a lie.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Eddie looked graceful in his golf-gear; long legs looking trim in blue plaid pressed trousers and his torso wrapped in a baby blue polo shirt. Louis’ blue bandana was back around his curls and his stomach twisted a bit at the sight. Something of _his_ was now in Eddie’s possession and not only that but it was becoming a well-loved accessory.

 

He pulled the buggy up beside the hole Eddie was aiming for; slim body twisting lithely as he took the shot; the ball settling only inches from the hole.

 

“Better luck next time,” Louis offered as Eddie walked up the grass bank with his golf-caddy; leaning one hand on the hood of the cart.

 

“Have I got time for another hole?”

 

Louis blinked at the suggestive tone, tempering his smile.

 

“Kendra’s setting up,” Louis said. “Just think how much fun we can have today…”

 

Eddie chuckled drily, lifting his caddy onto the back of the cart and then climbing up beside Louis.

 

“I mean, yesterday was fun,” Eddie commented as Louis started the drive back; turning the cart full circle.

 

Louis glanced over.

 

“It was,” he agreed.

 

Eddie licked his lips.

 

“Hope you didn’t miss me too much when you woke up.”

 

Louis huffed out a laugh.

 

“Think I’m old enough to take the hit,” he assured, then realised his slip. Eddie didn’t seem to notice anything odd about his comment.

 

“I mean, I was kind of beating you to it,” he admitted. “Figured if I cut out before you realised your _mistake_ then I wouldn’t have to hear you say it again.”

 

_Shit._

_Shit, shit, shit._

Louis opened his mouth to say something; to spill words which might offer any kind of comfort to the young man by his side. Louis hadn’t expected Eddie to feel hurt by his words. He hadn’t expected him to feel _rejection_. Clearly Eddie _had_ had some lasting, loving relationships in his young life so why did he sound as though every guy he met was going to use him and leave him without a care?

 

Probably because they did; Louis realised sadly. Apart from Zayn and he hadn’t been _allowed_ to love him, Diamond had said.

 

Louis didn’t have the right words. He didn’t have much of anything, if he was honest. He had very little self-control and even less strength to fight whatever it was that he was feeling. Did Niall have the right idea about a fling? Fuck the guy until he had to leave and then vanish when he broke the relationship up? Did Eddie even want that with him? Something…steady?

 

He parked the cart and walked into the hotel with Eddie by his side; Eddie’s fingers brushing his as they walked.

 

//

 

“Right, we’re starting today’s session with a trust fall,” Kendra announced.

 

A collective groan sounded out.

 

“Up and in a circle, please,” she smiled breezily.

 

The group of ten rose; eyeing each other nervously.

 

“One at a time, you and your partner will take it in turns to come to the centre of the circle, close your eyes and fall back where your partner will catch you. This is an exercise of trust,” she explained. “There’s a few of us here in case you can’t take the full weight of your beloved,” she added.

 

Louis stepped up to the middle of the circle on Kendra’s signal.

 

“Close your eyes, Will. Eddie, are you ready?” She called, then giggled at the rhyme.

 

“Ready,” Eddie nodded.

 

Louis squeezed his eyes shut and let his body fall; strong arms looping around him to catch him midway to the ground.

 

“Got him,” Eddie boasted deeply; helping Louis to stand upright once more.

 

Louis turned and looked at him, switching places.

 

Eddie fidgeted in the middle of the group, swinging his arms and huffing out breaths.

 

“Are you ready?” Kendra asked.

 

“Not really,” Eddie admitted with a tight smile.

 

Louis waited; his heart leaping into his throat. Eddie didn’t trust him. No fucking wonder since he was up and down like a yo-yo. No wonder since he was _lying_ about who he was.

 

“Don’t you trust Will to catch you?” She asked gently.

 

“Yeah,” Eddie quickly nodded. “I mean yeah, of course I do, it’s just…” He swallowed, peeking over his shoulder.

 

Louis smiled at him.

 

“I’m not scared of hitting the ground,” Eddie told her, rough-voiced. “It’s the fall.”

 

Kendra gave Louis a pointed look.

 

“And what would you say to that, Will?”

 

Louis looked startled. He hadn’t expected _feelings_ to be involved with this, it was just supposed to be a simple exercise.

 

“I would say….uh….” He stared at Kendra, bewildered, and she nodded encouragingly.

 

“Don’t be afraid,” he managed, rather obviously. “I mean that’s—What I mean to say is that, um, we’re all afraid of falling,” he offered. “It’s a long way down. But it’s a fun ride. Scary. But fun.”

 

“Will you catch him?” She prompted gently.

 

“Fucking stood here, aren’t I?” He huffed, then rolled his eyes and softened his voice. “Hey, Sunflower, I’ll catch you, alright?” He added, meeting Eddie’s gaze.

 

“Okay,” Eddie folded his arms in an X across his chest, closing his eyes.

 

Louis stepped forward before he’d even dropped; twisting to make sure that he caught him bridal style so he could sink to his knees and cradle Eddie in his arms.

 

Eddie opened his eyes; expecting a harsh impact and blinking confusedly when there wasn’t one.

 

Louis lifted one side of his mouth in a wry smile.

 

“Got you,” he stated very gently.

 

Eddie’s lips split into a dimpled smile.

 

“That was fun,” he decided. “Can we do it again?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes and helped him up.

 

//

 

“Okay, this task is going to take a couple of hours,” Kendra gathered them all back into the seated area of the function room.

 

Five baby dolls were laid on Kendra’s desk, alongside five pairs of handcuffs.

 

Eddie glanced at Louis and he shrugged.

 

“You each get one pair of handcuffs; to link yourselves together,” she stated. “And one realistic baby doll to take of…”

 

“What?” Louis stared at her; unamused.

 

“You both have to work together to change them; feed them and comfort them when they cry. This is a real test in how well you work together under stressful circumstances,” she warned.

 

Louis was beginning to wish he had taken advantage of the Jacuzzi after all.

 

“After two hours I want you to come back and we’ll go through what you feel went well and what didn’t…”

 

Eddie smirked; eyes raking over the babies.

 

“Can I choose our baby?” He asked.

 

Kendra invited him over to select his doll; handing him the cuffs and keys.

 

“You have to have the keys in case of an emergency,” she shared. “But try not use them.”

 

Eddie nodded and pocketed the keys; tucking his doll into the crook of his arm and heading towards Louis.

 

“Which wrist?” Eddie asked, dangling the cuffs from his finger with the tip of his tongue pressed to his front teeth.

 

“Right,” Louis selected flatly. “Do we have to do this?”

 

“I love babies,” Eddie grinned, clicking the cuff to his left wrist. “Look at her…I think she has your eyes…”

 

Louis fastened the cuff around his right arm and sighed.

 

“How can she have my eyes, she’s not real?”

 

Eddie ducked his chin to murmur to the doll. “Don’t listen to Daddy, sweetheart…hope you don’t inherit his stubborn streak as well, hm?”

 

Louis let his hand dangle as Eddie petted the doll. Promptly; the doll started to cry.

 

“She doesn’t like your face,” Louis smirked. “Let the expert take over…”

 

Eddie curved away from him as he reached for the baby.

 

“No, I can do it,” he pouted. “Don’t undermine me…”

 

Kendra flitted around the couples to check they were all set up for their task. She chuckled upon finding Eddie besotted over his doll already; jigging her gently to stop the wailing.

 

“Well you three look like a ready-made family,” she complimented. “Be back here by twelve.”

 

“Okay, bye,” Eddie turned and went to walk away; forgetting Louis was chained to him now; both of them yanked back by the connection. “Oops, sorry,” he apologised softly with a sheepish smile.

 

“Let’s go back to our room, shall we?” Louis suggested as he picked up the baby-bag Kendra supplied them with. “Try and contain this situation,” he gestured to the handcuffs and the doll.

 

“Yessir,” Eddie cast over his shoulder as they walked out.

 

//

 

“What shall we name her, kitten?” Eddie asked as they carefully made their way back to the room together.

 

“Deville,” Louis suggested.

 

“Oh shush,” Eddie huffed. “I was thinking Bethany...”

 

“Fine, whatever,” Louis dismissed as he was dragged toward the bed with Eddie who sat cross legged with the baby propped on his knee.

 

“She’s your baby, too,” Eddie accused with a pout. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously. “

 

Louis snorted.

 

“It’s a fucking _doll_.”

 

Bethany started to cry; Eddie shooting him an accusing glare and yanking his arm when he reached for the bag of supplies.

 

“You won’t even let me hold her,” Louis accused, gesturing to where Eddie was searching for a dummy.

 

“You’re a deadbeat Dad that’s why...”

 

“I’m a _what_ , now?”

 

“First you jump in my pants and knock me up and now that I have stretch marks you don’t love me any more and you’re looking for slim, pretty boys to take my place...”

 

Louis was about to ask Eddie what the _fuck_ he was on but he decided against it; letting his bewilderment slip away. Eddie clearly wanted to role-play. Louis knew how to play different parts but he wasn’t used to being with someone quite so...dramatic.

 

He sighed, climbing on the bed facing Eddie and tucking his legs around him; creating a connection. He reached out with his unchained hand and grasped Eddie’s arm, stroking with his thumb.

 

“Babe, I still love you,” he promised; earning a surprised look from Eddie. “And your stretch marks don’t bother me. You’re as beautiful as the day we met. Maybe even more so because watching you care for our daughter it’s just—it’s so overwhelming.”

 

Eddie pressed his lips together, but the giggle burst out of him and he snorted.

 

“You’re good at this,” he praised.

 

Louis kept his face impassive. He was an expert.

 

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?”

 

Eddie smirked, lifting the baby to pass her over.

 

“Bethany wants to say hi to Daddy.”

 

Louis took the baby and smiled at her, settling her on his arm.

 

“She’s got your sass, love,” Louis commented. “I think I can see curls in her hair...”

 

“I’m not _sassy_ ,” Eddie huffed.

 

Eddie shifted a bit, leaning his back against the headboard and letting his legs rest gently against Louis' where he curled them up.

 

“My Mom would have loved to have seen this,” Louis mused of the bizarre situation with the doll.

 

Eddie's lips tugged into a tired smile, fingers resting on Louis' thigh while their joined hands resided in Louis’ space.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Louis glanced at him and smiled; brushing his fingers against Eddie's.

 

“Want to duck under my arm?” He asked.

 

Eddie wriggled closer, Louis lifting the arm with their cuffed hands to loop it around his shoulders;  Harry’s arm trapped across his chest. He settled, comforting himself into the pose.

 

“I think my Mom would have liked to have seen me with children,” Eddie confessed,  slow and quiet.

 

“Maternal instinct,” Louis mused. “Never goes away.”

 

Eddie lifted his chin up frown a little at Louis.

 

“Do you see your family much?”

 

Louis shrugged.

 

“Now and then.”

 

“Why did you move?”

 

Louis smiled wanly.  He had a back story for Will memorized. For some reason he found himself not wanting to use it, though.

 

“Work,” he offered. Another half truth.

 

“Of course,” the weight of Eddie's head nestled against his shoulder. “The job.”

 

“Not much acting work out in Arizona,” he murmured.

 

“Hmm,” Eddie snuffled as he curled tighter against Louis' side.

 

Louis checked on Bethany, closed his eyes and let his body to lax.

 

//

 

“No, it’s alright darling...come on now, stop that crying...”

 

Louis didn’t startle awake. The low urgent tones of Eddie’s voice were soon joined by Bethany’s fake cries but he stayed still, listening.

 

“You’re such a pretty girl, there's no need for all this...you’ve been fed and comforted and-"

 

Bethany’s cries got louder.

 

“You'll wake Daddy up. Daddy's old and tired he needs his rest...”

 

“I’m not _old,_ ” Louis defended with a yawn as he stretched; Eddie now cradling the screaming baby; their arms unlooped from their previous embrace. “How long has she been crying?”

 

“About ten minutes. I think we need to change her nappy, but we have to work together,” he explained.

 

“Okay,” Louis immediately sat up and settled beside Eddie on the bed. “Let’s do this...”

 

Eddie slipped the old nappy away while Louis cleaned the doll; both of them helping to fasten the tabs on a new nappy as quickly as possible.

 

Bethany didn’t stop crying, Eddie sending Louis a distressed look.

 

“Do you think she’s hungry again?” 

 

Louis shrugged.

 

“Wouldn’t hurt to try a bottle. I've got five sisters and I have to say most of it was trial and error.”

 

Eddie peeked at him.

 

“What're their names?”

 

“Felicity, Lottie, Phoebe, Daisy and Doris.”

 

“I’d love to meet them,” Eddie stated quietly; like he knew how those words could be misconstrued.

 

“To take pictures?” Louis broached.

 

Eddie shot his gaze away.

 

“No. I don’t usually take pictures without permission,” he sighed.

 

“Just outside schools,” Louis pushed gently.

 

Eddie stared at him with a disgruntled frown, eyes dark and accusing.

 

“There’s...it's something I’m dealing with,” he squirmed. “I can’t say what.”

 

Louis’ curiosity piqued.

 

“Why didn’t you just tell the cops that?” He wondered.

 

Eddie fidgeted with Bethany and the bottle.

 

“They didn’t believe me,” He admitted quietly; hair curling around his bandana cutely, curly lashes brushing the smooth slopes of his cheeks. “Apparently just because I have sex for a living it makes me some kind of deviant in the eyes of the law.”

 

Louis recoiled at the admission. Eddie was right.  In his line of work, he would be regarded as less of a man just for the pure fact he liked having sex. But were they really so different? Louis liked having sex too. He might not get paid to do it, but their enjoyment was the same. If Louis had Eddie's confidence he might even consider a career in film. Louis' issue was and always would be that he didn’t have confidence. And feelings seemed to get in the way too often.

 

Eddie finished feeding Bethany but still she continued to cry.

 

“Maybe we should go for a walk,” Eddie suggested, surprising Louis with his natural insight.

 

They shifted carefully to the edge of the bed and got up; cuffed hands dangling together.

 

When they got to the hotel garden , Eddie nudged his knuckles against Louis’.

 

“May as well hold hands,” he suggested. “So we don’t look like we escaped prison...”

 

Louis scoffed at that; twining their fingers together.

 

“Excuse _you._ I do not look like a criminal,” he defended. “ _You_ on the other hand, you definitely look the part...”

 

Eddie transferred Bethany to Louis’ cradled arm carefully.

 

“How exactly do I look like a law-breaker, Willy? I’d love to know...”

 

Louis arched a brow, eyes flicking over Eddie's offended expression.

 

“That stubble for a start. Up to no good,” he stated.

 

Eddie sputtered out a laugh.

 

“Oh, so because I haven’t shaved for two days that immediately means my morals have slipped does it?”

 

“Yep,” Louis nodded, documenting the length of scruff that two days’ worth of not-shaving created. Might be useful information.

 

“Whatever,” Eddie scoffed.

 

“That bandana,” Louis accused.  “Very _street._ See a lot of thieves on the make with their hair tied back.”

 

“I’m not a fucking _thief_ ,” Eddie huffed. “And this is _yours_ unless you had forgotten?” _Louis hadn't._ “Which by default means _you're_ the thief.”

 

“Didn’t wear it on my head,” Louis sniffed.

 

Eddie lowered his lashes halfway over his eyes.

 

“You can’t possibly have anything else,” he challenged.

 

Louis stopped, eyes taking a long leisurely stock of the man cuffed to him; Eddie huffing and then preening once he noticed Louis’ gaze lingering on him; at his shoulders and lower; by his thighs.

 

“I think those golf pants could be classed as illegal,” Louis decided with a smug smile.

 

Eddie leaned in, a soft smile playing at his lips as he arched his brow.

 

“So could your ass but you don’t see me dialling 911...”

 

Louis' mouth popped open, but he didn’t have a chance to reply before a soft cooing sound started up at his side.

 

“Oh, look at you!” A young woman smiled at them shyly, glancing at Bethany in Louis' arms. “Isn’t she pretty?”

 

Louis cleared his throat and twisted to smile at her politely.

 

“We’re actually practising with a doll,” he explained quickly.

 

“Oh!” She looked at them both, delighted. “What a wonderful idea. So many marriages fall apart when a baby comes along...”

 

Louis stared at the lady in confusion. It wasn’t always _acceptable_ for same-sex couples to adopt. It wasn’t always _possible_ either. For the woman to talk as though having a baby would be a happy coincidence for them the same way it would be for a heterosexual couple filled Louis with some kind of blatant hope.

 

But actually—

 

“We're not, um-"

 

Eddie squeezed his hand.

 

“We're not married,” he spoke in his low voice. “Just got engaged actually.”

 

“Congratulations!” The stranger enthused; eyes sliding over them. “You look really good together. You’ll make great parents I’m sure.”

 

Louis smiled wanly.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Do I know you from somewhere?” She asked as her gaze flitted to Eddie.

 

“No, I don’t think so,” Eddie smiled his best dimpled smile.

 

“Well I wish all the best to you both,” she offered.

 

“Take care now,” Eddie murmured as the woman left with a wave.

 

“Wow, a liberal,” Louis observed. “They _do_ exist..”

 

“Will?” Eddie’s husky tone brought Louis' gaze to him; clinging to his sad smile.  “It’s time to take Bethany back,” he said.

 

“Already?” He checked and Eddie nodded with a swallow.

 

Louis ignored the pang in his chest and nodded back, cradling the baby closer to his chest.

 

//

 

“So how did you get along?” Kendra asked as Louis and Eddie returned to the room.

 

Eddie dipped into his pocket for the keys to their cuffs; passing them to Louis with a soulful look.

 

Louis released their wrists and let Eddie lift Bethany from his arm.

 

“Someone thought we were a real family,” Louis shared with the counsellor.

 

“Did you argue at all?” She asked as Louis watched Eddie turn away from them; deep words mumbled to the doll, but he couldn’t make them out.

 

“No,” he frowned, surprised. “Actually, we didn’t.”

 

“You had a common focus,” she explained. “Children don't fix problems,” she added carefully. “But the point is that you’ve both shown you can put your own needs aside and compromise for a greater cause.”

 

Louis’ brows furrowed as he watched Eddie cuddle the doll; placing her gently on the table and re-wrapping her swaddling before he took a deep, shaky breath and turned; catching Louis' gaze on him with a startled stare.

 

“How did you find it, Eddie?” Kendra asked.

 

Eddie cleared his throat, wiping his palms over his thighs in a nervous gesture.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, voice deep and scratchy. “Fine.”

 

Kendra glanced at Louis and murmured that she would be back, leaving Louis to do the only thing his body yearned to do in that moment.

 

He walked over to where Eddie was standing and circled him in his arms gently, staring into his face intently.

 

“Angel, you okay?”

 

Eddie huffed at the nickname, rolling his eyes.

 

“Thought I was your _baby_ ,” he accused but it was soft and brittle and Louis could only hold him tighter as he leaned in to the hug; holding Louis just as tight.

 

“Baby,” Louis murmured; tangling his fingers into the mess of curls at the back of Eddie's hair; then combing through them soothingly.

 

_Be nice._

 

Wasn’t that what Niall had said? Louis was pretty sure that didn’t include pet names and fake engagements, but Louis was beyond caring about the particulars.

 

Eddie pulled away with a telling sheen to his eyes and a subtle sniff.

 

“Think we have our one-on-one now,” he lifted his chin to signal the fact that each couple was gravitating towards a private booth, Kendra working her way into each capsule.

 

“Come on then,” Louis took his hand and walked him over.

 

//

 

 

“So how _is_ the sex-life?” Kendra asked, unexpectedly, sitting down with a large box beside her.

 

Louis glanced at Eddie.

 

“I think it’s good,” he replied. “Not sure Eddie agrees...”

 

“ _Really_ good,” Eddie smiled slowly and suggestively. “It’s really good,” he repeated softly, biting his lip.

 

Louis gave him a bemused look.

 

“Not what you said the other day,” he muttered under his breath.

 

“Well as part of the trust exercise, and to explore your sexual compatibility, I have one last piece of homework for you.”

 

Eddie side-eyed Louis nervously.

 

“Um. Okay.”

 

“This is my box of tricks,” Kendra lifted the cardboard box onto the table.

 

It was evident then that it was filled with various sex toys. Vibrators, cock-rings, dildos, the lot. Louis felt his cheeks flush.

 

“Eddie you’re the one with the trust issue,” she commented. “I want you to pick a toy that you wouldn't trust anyone else with. Something you feel that you can share with Will to strengthen your bond...”

 

Louis snorted.

 

“He’s used everything in that box,” he derided.

 

Kendra smiled kindly.

 

“Eddie?”

 

Eddie leaned over the table from his slouched position, digging through the box. He lifted out a boxed dildo; ribbed and a pretty glitter gel pink.

 

Louis’ mouth went dry. His eyes flicked to Eddie's.

 

“I’ve used one of these on myself but nobody else has,” He supplied.

 

“They haven’t?” Louis questioned.

 

Eddie shook his head, eyes downcast.

 

“Right, fine,” Louis managed breathily. “Good.”

 

“Eddie are you happy with that?” Kendra checked.

 

Eddie twisted his lips thoughtfully and lifted his gaze; burning into Louis' soul with it before casting it back to Kendra.

 

“I’m good,” he promised.

 

//

 

Eddie’s dick.

 

Eddie’s dick was nestled against his ass. Eddie's dick was nestled against his ass and he was so fucking _hard_. He was so hard and it was his own fucking fault really.

 

It had been _his_ idea to visit the Great Basin National Park for their second date night.  _His_ idea to have a picnic and rent a telescope at Mather Overlook to watch the stars.  It had been _his_ idea to explore the Lehman Caves; something that Eddie had taken part in with such a quiet kind of supportive camaraderie that Louis _really_ hadn’t expected.

 

Eddie's date had been about wealth and luxury; showing off in a helicopter and eating rich, expensive food.

 

Louis had taken the polar-opposite approach, surprised when Eddie had arrived in the foyer in _appropriate_ clothes. If you could call his tiny red shorts, Louis’ white undershirt and a crumpled white sequin-embroidered shirt _appropriate_. It was a shock to learn that Eddie _owned_ trainers if he was honest.

 

They'd rented walking poles and backpacks with the essentials for their camping trip and the day had been strangely nice.

 

There had been no fighting, no back-biting and no tension. No seduction or overt conversation, even.

 

But Eddie _had_ insisted on bringing The Toy™️.

 

Louis knew he’d picked the dildo only for the fact that Louis had made an angry remark once about fucking him with one. _There went his insecurity again._ Not that he _cared_ what Eddie thought.

 

And ever since they'd bedded down an hour ago with the lamp burning lowly above them (because Louis wasn’t sleeping in the dark _no way, no how_ ) Louis’ mind had been fixed on the fact that The Toy™️ was tucked into Eddie's rucksack waiting for an appearance.

 

Eddie hadn’t helped his over-active imagination by nestling up close to him and—well, settling his dick along the crack of Louis’ ass to be frank.

 

“Mmm,” Eddie’s throaty purr stirred something in Louis’ belly; his hot palm (minus his rings) rubbing gently over his t-shirted chest. “What’s up kitten?”

 

He heard Eddie yawn and felt him stretch; settling back against Louis and cuddling him in a bit.

 

“Serial killer noises?” Eddie mused.

 

Louis swallowed.

 

“I was asleep, you know,” he whispered and it lost the bite he intended to inject into those words.

 

“You were breathing heavy,” Eddie retorted. “Sounded creepy if I’m honest...”

 

Louis let out a breath.

 

“Sorry I woke you,” he wriggled to escape the hardening length of Eddie's dick against his ass.

 

“Not that bothered,” Eddie mumbled against his hair. “Wanna play?”

 

Fucking _Christ_.  How could he possibly _know_?

 

Eddie's hand slithered down from his chest, tugging teasingly at his t-shirt hem to slide his palm over his toned belly and then sweeping low to rub the heel of his palm against the ridge in Louis' shorts that he had been steadfastly ignoring.

 

“No, I’m good,” he denied but even to his own ears his voice was soft and weak.

 

Eddie chuckled, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck and sliding his dick along the groove he'd found in Louis' backside.

 

“Sweet little kitten,” he growled. “Gonna meow for me?”

 

Louis sighed and twisted; batting him away with a sharp elbow. Eddie fell back with a soft huff of amusement; grinning up at him with a brow arched and his naked body on display in the lamp-light apart from his brief-covered hips.

 

The briefs may as well not be there for the outline pressing through the thin material; Eddie’s toothy, dimpled grin and star-lit eyes possibly the most attractive thing of all.

 

It turned out that Eddie loved star-gazing. Louis had started showing him the constellations on the assumption he would get bored very quickly and find something to amuse himself while Louis finished documenting the sky, but Eddie _hadn’t_ gotten bored. He’d pulled the stars down from the sky and put them in his eyes.

 

“Not into meowing?” Eddie asked when Louis hesitated and then he was moving; climbing to his knees and across Eddie's body; straddling his hips to grasp his arms and tug them upwards, insistently pinning his wrists above his head.

 

“If you like _meowing_ so much,” Louis whispered.  “ _You_ do it.”

 

Eddie blinked, tongue sweeping over his front teeth as a playful smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

 

He rutted his hips, earning a little friction against Louis' inner thigh; enough to draw a happy, breathy gasp from his lips as he tossed his head back and-

 

“Mee-ow,” he cried throatily followed by a giggle.

 

Louis didn’t see anything funny about it at all. He shifted his knee; pressing it carefully against the hard length in Eddie’s briefs. Eddie's hips stuttered; the smile slipped off his lips.

 

“O-oh,” he murmured, twisting his hips slightly against the sharp jut of bone in Louis’ knee.

 

“Yeah, _oh_ ,” Louis breathed. “Not laughing now.”

 

Eddie blinked up at him; shifting his hands and finding no give in Louis' hold. The darkness blazed in his eyes as he again rolled his hips; a tiny pinch forming above his brows.

 

“What--,” He swallowed, biting his lip. “What're you going to do?”

 

_Good question._

Louis hadn’t planned that far ahead. But his mind was buzzing with one objective and he couldn’t sleep peacefully until it was achieved.

 

He let Eddie go all at once, earning a soft noise from him as he twisted away to find the rucksack containing The Toy™️.

 

Louis pulled it out and unboxed it quickly, gripping the shaft to show it to Eddie.

 

“If you trust me,” He murmured.

 

Eddie’s eyes met his darkly and he swallowed but he nodded slowly, almost like his body was rebelling against his mind. Louis could relate.

 

He rifled for the lubricant; laying the items beside his knee that bracketed Eddie's hips.

 

“Want to see you,” he murmured.  “Want to stay on your back or-"

 

Louis would happily hold Eddie's weight while he rode the dildo in his lap.  _Happily._

The scary truth was he’d happily listen to him meow all night, too.

 

“Like this,” Eddie hooked his legs over Louis' thighs once Louis had peeled off his underwear.

 

Eddie looked like a dark demon in the low flame-light; golden skin burned bronze and shadows falling on his skin among his crafted body.

 

His hair was achingly tousled; his lips beautifully deep red and as Louis touched him; he wondered if Eddie knew the truth.

 

Louis was _falling._

Eddie's nipples peaked with the barest touch. His tummy rippled when Louis splayed a hand there. He made a sweet noise in his throat when Louis slid a hand into his lower back and lifted him onto his lap.

 

“Kiss me,” Eddie pleaded and it was the first time he had directly asked for Louis' mouth.

 

Louis crawled over him; far too distracted into sucking the soft lips of a man who whimpered quietly as they rutted together; hard bodies clashing gently and with tight urgency.

 

“Baby,” Louis whispered as he gently clasped Eddie's ankle to unfold his legs from his body; getting onto his knees to resume his original plan.

 

“Why won’t you fuck me?” Eddie ground out, sensitive to every touch that Louis afforded him with and growing frustrated.

 

Louis slicked his fingers with lube and smirked.

 

“Going to fuck you with a dildo in a minute,” he promised. “Just let me make you come on my fingers first, love...”

 

Eddie's eyes flared as his mouth fell open, but Louis coaxed his digits against his rim gently to ease the starkness of his words. He wanted to twist _love_ inside of Eddie. He wanted to plant a seed and let it grow from the inside out until Eddie saw himself the way that Louis saw him. Not just as a cocky, big-dicked porn star. But as something much more. A man who didn’t like feeling disliked. A man who named a doll and mourned her loss. A man who— _holy fuck_. Who looked like he’d never experienced anything as sweet as the twist of Louis' slick fingers deep inside.

 

“Please, “ he was back to begging, breathy and weak.

Louis stripped his t-shirt off; re-wetting his fingers and adding a third. Eddie moaned and began to fuck himself on them; his dick rigid and tight in his lap.

 

Louis tried to stroke him at the same time he fingered him; wet fringe tossed impatiently from his eyes. His glasses were folded up by the lamp, but he hadn’t picked them up and it was too late to put them on. Eddie was seeing the real him as he opened his eyes and connected their gazes. Louis felt their souls converge.

 

“C'mon, Baby,” he murmured; Eddie’s thighs flexing with the strain of pushing his hips up.

 

Louis shifted his fingers, switching angle and when Eddie sank down this time, he threw his head back in breathy laughter.

 

“Yeah!” He bit his lip; gripping Louis' wrists to anchor himself. “Fuck, yeah...”

 

Eddie came hard; thick ribbons flushing in stuttered bursts while Louis sucked marks into his thighs.  His mouth moved to the pretty laurel leaves on Eddie's hips as Eddie sagged back; lax and sated.

 

“Not yet,” Louis murmured against his belly; slicking up the toy. He nudged the tip at Eddie's hole, earning a lazy, blinking stare.

 

Eddie’s fingers fastened around his wrist underneath his own body. Louis understood and swallowed reverently, letting Eddie control the pressure against his rim.

 

Louis kissed along his thigh slowly; with loving, soft presses of his mouth and the dildo slipped quickly inside Eddie's heat; long shaft stretching him wide open.

 

Eddie's eyes met his; brows pinched slightly and lips open; silently asking him if he was doing okay.

 

“Jesus,” Louis whispered, nudging the toy deeper inside.

 

“Not Jesus,” Eddie managed to gasp.

 

Louis crawled over his body slightly, laying a trail of kisses up his chest and throat and onto his mouth.

 

“Just a _king_ ,” he remembered, sliding the dildo out and then fucking it back in; firmer this time.

 

Eddie clenched and cried out; a thin trickle of come dribbling out of his dick and Louis wasn’t sure if that was left over from the first time or if he had just come again.

 

What he did know was that he had to kiss him; messy and urgent and sweet while Eddie gripped the toy deep inside himself; muscles refusing to let it go.

 

Louis pulled away to Eddie’s hand in his hair; his palm sliding along his cheek onto his jaw and his pupils dilated to drown the colour of his eyes.

 

“You,” Eddie whispered brokenly; begging for Louis to be inside him and it broke Louis’ resolve. He shoved the waist band of his shorts down and went to touch himself, but Eddie's fingers got their first; wrapping around him eagerly and giving a smooth tug.

 

Louis nudged the toy gently inside each time Eddie stroked and he came quickly; over Eddie’s hand and both their bodies; fearing their sleeping bags would be ruined.

 

Louis stared into Eddie’s eyes as he delicately slipped the dildo out of him; Eddie’s throat bobbing as he clenched around nothing.

 

“Soon,” Louis promised with a soft kiss to his lips.

 

It wasn’t until afterwards; when Louis wrapped Eddie into his arms in a spooning cuddle that he realised the weight of his words.  _Soon_ was an empty promise. An outright _lie_. But Louis was desperate to believe it could come true. And he fell asleep knowing nothing good could possibly come out of any of what had happened. But he felt powerless to stop it all the same.

 

//

 

Eddie was wearing Louis' t-shirt the next morning when he strolled into the function room for the final wrap-up with Kendra.

 

Louis hadn’t missed his clothing after their night of passion, packing up the camping gear quietly after making them a quick cooked breakfast. Eddie had seemed happy with the comfortable silence, curling up in the passenger seat of his Ferrari while he let Louis drive them back to the hotel.

 

Now that _his_ t-shirt was stretched across Eddie's lush chest, however, Louis realised he'd never be able to ask for it back. He didn’t _want_ to. Eddie looked soft again, big glasses and purple pants teamed with the t-shirt. He sat beside Louis on what had become _their_ sofa; the backs of his fingers sliding over his thigh until his hand settled in a light grasp above his knee. Claiming him.

Louis slid his palm up Eddie's spine in reassurance; the younger man relaxing into his seat with Louis' arm around him.

 

“Eddie and Will, how are you?” Kendra swept into the room.

 

“Good,” was the general consensus from both men.

 

The slot with Kendra was a one-on-one, giving them privacy to share their experiences.

 

“How did the trust experiment go?” She flicked her eyes between them.

 

“Amazing, yeah,” Louis nodded, glancing at Eddie. “Think he liked it...”

 

Eddie's fingers swept over Louis' knee, settling back on his thigh.

 

“He’s _incredible_ in bed,” Eddie answered in a silky voice. “Not that he believes me...”

 

Louis stared.

 

“You told me that-"

 

Eddie leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.

 

“I lied,” he shrugged with a lop-sided smile.

 

Louis blinked. _Right._ They were playing a game, _obviously_.

 

“Will, do you have any final observations? Anything that Eddie can do to make you feel loved and secure?”

 

 _Oh, fuck oh fuck oh fuck_.

 

Louis stared wide-eyed at the question.

 

“No, I feel--" he cleared his throat. “ _Plenty_ loved and secure,” he forced out.

 

Eddie watched him with raised brows.

 

“I should spend more time on him,” Eddie offered.

_Little minx,_ Louis mused.

 

“And Eddie, is there anything that Louis could do to make _you_ feel more loved and secure?”

 

Eddie smirked.

 

“Yell at me less.”

 

Kendra smiled at Louis' accusing glare.

 

“I think you’ve both done marvellously this weekend.  I get a great sense of rapport between the two of you. Just remember to talk to each other,” she coached.

 

“Thank you,” Louis nodded and stood up to shake her hand.

 

Eddie pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.

 

“Thanks, Ken.”

 

Louis rolled his eyes, ready to lead Eddie out of the room when a large palm settled on his behind.

 

“Come on, kitten,” Eddie mumbled against his ear. “Let’s go.”

 

//

 

It was at lunch; at a quaint little organic café, that Eddie stretched his long body out; folding his arms behind his head which tugged Louis’ t-shirt over his belly; baring the tips of his laurel tattoos and a good inch of his taut stomach.

 

“We could stay an extra day you know,” he broached casually.

 

Louis considered the last three days; the dildo, the blowjob and the session in the car. An extra day would only add further temptation to his weakness to give into Eddie’s unique brand of appeal.

 

“Oh?” He sipped his tea convincingly.

 

“Well, Winston is paying for all this,” he reminded. “We haven’t exactly been able to you know…relax fully,” he suggested with a warm tone. “Might as well stretch it out for a bit longer,” he tempted. “Unless you’ve got to get back…”

 

“Er, not really,” Louis replied honestly; darting him a look. “But we’ve done pretty much everything we can here so…”

 

“We haven’t been in the pool,” Eddie replied quickly with a smirk.

 

Louis took a fortifying breath. _Fuck._

 

“Sure you don’t want another round of golf?”

 

Eddie shifted out of his stretch; fingers unfurling the t-shirt hem over his abs.

 

“Want to do something fun, Willy.”

 

“Fine. Pool it is,” he agreed stoically; earning a throaty laugh from Eddie before the other man sipped on his smoothie, tongue unfurling to take his straw into his mouth.

 

Louis just hoped he would survive another close encounter with his nemesis.

 

//

 

The pool was empty when they ventured in; Louis suspecting Eddie of paying off the hotel to give them privacy.

 

“Let’s have some fun,” Eddie grinned; tossing floating devices into the water from the pens at the side where they were stacked.

 

“Shouldn’t we put our swimming trunks on?” Louis suggested.

 

Eddie rounded on him with mischievous laughter; arms circling Louis’ waist to haul him towards the water.

 

“I seem to remember you like skinny-dipping,” he huffed against Louis’ hair as Louis resisted the pull of his weight.

 

“Wait-Eddie! Don’t—”

 

Louis felt his feet lift off the ground; Eddie’s arm tight around him constricting his breath as he gasped and the next thing he knew, his body was hitting the surface of the pool; sinking into the depths with a shocking splash.

 

Louis let his body sink a little further; enough air in his lungs to hold his breath under the water while Eddie watched from the pool-side; guilt hopefully overwhelming the other man from throwing him in.

 

Five seconds later; Louis recognised the muted thud of Eddie’s body breaking the water; let his own form go limp as he shut his eyes.

 

Just as Eddie powered him to the surface of the pool; Louis lifted up and dunked him hard; sucking in much-needed oxygen to power a second dunk when Eddie popped up to gasp in air.

 

“Hey,” Eddie frowned; slicking back his hair with his ringed fingers when he surfaced again.

 

Louis smirked.

 

“You started it, Sunflower.”

 

Eddie huffed; swimming to the side to slip off his jewellery; startling when something poked him in the back.

 

“Quack, quack,” Louis grinned; angling the giant inflatable ring with a duck-head towards him menacingly.

 

Eddie wrestled the inflatable out of the way and gave Louis a dark look before swimming towards him with intent. Louis yelped and twisted in the water; swimming for his life.

 

//

 

“Hmm?”

 

Eddie’s questioning hum vibrated against Louis’ lips as Eddie kissed him; Louis’ back pressed against the side of the pool. He’d given up trying to kick away; legs tangled with Eddie’s and hands cupping his wet, smug face.

 

Eddie’s fingers tugged at his top; stripping it over his head wetly; slapping it down against the concrete side.

 

“Can we stay all week?” Eddie’s lips pulled up lop-sidedly as his fingers started work on Louis’ shorts with a lick of his lips.

 

Louis could taste chlorine and the hot salt of Eddie on his tongue. He lowered his hands to strip Eddie’s (his) t-shirt over his head; his trousers sinking to the bottom of the pool when Louis got distracted into kissing him again once their clothes were rid.

 

“Feels too good,” Eddie complained breathily as he brushed up between Louis’ thighs, Louis tightening them around his waist when Eddie guided him to; dipping down for another deep kiss.

 

Louis’ fingers got lost in his wet hair; the dampness of their skin too much of a reminder of only two nights ago when they had rutted together hotly in the back of his car.

 

“Like getting me wet, huh,” Louis accused; licking his lips as Eddie broke away to kiss his neck.

 

“Very much so,” Eddie agreed easily with a smirk; lighted eyes meeting Louis’ with a purse of his lips. “Do you mind?”

 

Louis huffed; tightening his legs to tug him close; hands clasping his jaw again to guide him into a kiss.

 

“Not until another patron walks in and then we might have an issue,” he mused.

 

Eddie ran the heel of his hand over the front of Louis’ underwear, eyes fixing on his intensely.

 

“Nobody’s coming in here, kitten,” he promised. “We can do whatever we like…”

 

Louis felt a surprising bolt of arousal shimmer across his skin; knowing that Eddie had secured the pool just for the both of them; to be able to—

 

He swallowed as Eddie smiled; fingertips tracing his growing erection.

 

“Jesus,” his voice cracked; Eddie swooping in to kiss him again; his lips never leaving Louis’ mouth while he touched him under the water until he met a high he was becoming familiar with; and addicted to.


	8. Chapter 8

“Yeah...Yeah okay I’ve got it...” Eddie’s eyes flicked to the side and over his shoulder to look at Louis.  Louis carried on pretending to pack his suitcase meticulously.

 

“I can stop by on the way back... It won’t be an issue, Dad,” Eddie murmured.  “No, I can—I _will_ ,” he sighed. “Alright, I will. Yeah he’s fine,” Eddie mumbled; glancing at Louis again. “Dad says hi.”

 

Louis looked up at that; offering a reassuring smile.

 

Eddie sent one back.

 

“Okay I’ll try... I said I’ll _try_. I’ll see you soon,” he added softly before he hung up; the dial-up phone chiming softly when he did so.

 

“Everything okay?” Louis asked as Eddie stood up from his perch on the edge of the bed to stretch out his body.

 

The velour pants were looser and pink today. They were combined with a black vest tucked into the band and his white leather jacket.  Louis lamented every item of clothing he owned and secretly wished for a closet like Eddie's.

 

The clothes that they had surrendered to the pool had been laundered overnight. They had spent the afternoon snoozing on the sun-loungers and had a quiet; intimate dinner on the terrace; just talking. Louis had learned vital information about Eddie; what he liked to eat, his favourite music, that he could dance. But none of it aided his case. Louis didn’t exactly mind that much. The fact he could spend time with Eddie without the pair of them ending up in a yelling match was progress that he was willing to take.

 

“My Dad wants me to stop by this place real quick on the way home,” Eddie shared. “It’ll take ten minutes, tops.”

 

“Your Dad?” Louis asked, intrigued.

 

“Robin,” Eddie clarified.  “My biological father officially disowned me so he’s not _technically_ my Dad...”

 

Louis nodded; shutting his case to zip it up.

 

“It’s no problem to make an errand,” he assured; sly eyes watching Eddie's body language as he moved to get his own luggage.

 

“Come on, Buttercup,” Eddie smirked, waiting for Louis to pass him so he could playfully smack his ass.

 

Louis let out a breath as he got into the hallway. The mood was a good one; at least.

 

//

 

Eddie stopped in Little Rock.

 

The Ferrari was nestled safely by the curb while he unfolded his long, slim body from the low seat; reaching into the back for his jacket and a small leather bag.

 

  _His camera._

Louis felt his heart rate pick up, but he kept staring out of his window; elbow propped on the window sill and the tip of his finger brushing over his lips.

 

Eddie had loaned him a pair of denim shorts that were shorter than his usual preference, but the weather had decided to turn blazingly hot for the drive home and Louis only brought one pair of shorts for the trip. The pair which were now covered in come.

 

He glanced at Eddie as he ducked his head back into the car.

 

“I won’t be long,” He said.

 

Louis tried not to analyse the aggrieved expression on his face and the way he didn’t look young anymore. Whatever Eddie was doing, it clearly took some kind of toll on him.

 

“No worries,” Louis replied with a wan smile.

 

Eddie seemed to hesitate, brows furrowing and lips opening as if to speak again but then he huffed quietly and gave a single nod before he shut the car door and jogged across the street.

 

Louis waited until he was far enough away not to hear his door pop and slid out; covertly wandering across the road in pursuit.

 

“What’re you up to?” He murmured to himself; pushing his glasses up his nose.

 

Again, he wished he hadn’t lost connection with Niall at HQ. He could use a little help on their location and surrounding area. He could use a little moral support.

 

Louis walked up the tree-lined sidewalk beside a metal fence; a large green field circling the rear of a building. The distant sound of voices chattered away in the distance: high pitched and excited.

 

Louis ducked his head to look through the trees.

 

_It was a school._

 

Fuck. _Fuck fuck fuck_.

 

 Fuck _it_.

 

Louis sighed, shoving his hands in his shorts pockets and veering towards the trees to keep out of sight. Eddie wasn’t an idiot. As much as Louis could try and pass off his reasons for leaving the car as needing to pee or just being plain curious; it wouldn’t really cut it with the younger man.

 

He began to slow down, Eddie lost from sight as he slipped behind the trees, squeezing along the fence carefully as he kept lookout.

 

His breath caught in his throat when he spotted him; in his pink trousers and white jacket; on one knee beside the fence. And _fuck it all to hell_ ; he had the camera in his hand; setting it up for a shot.

 

“Eddie,” he whispered to himself; pained. His throat tightened, and his chest felt full; as though his heart had no room to beat and his lungs couldn’t take on more air. ”Fuck.”

 

Louis twisted out of his sheltered position, glancing down the boulevard to check Eddie's position before he got back on the sidewalk. The spot where Eddie had been crouched was empty, though and it didn’t matter how many times he looked left and right; he was nowhere in sight.

 

“Shit,” he whispered, deciding to rush back to the car in case Eddie came up the sidewalk to pass him or even worse; found another route to the car only to find Louis missing.

 

It was as he was checking over his right shoulder that he bumped into someone.

 

“Oh, sorr-" He looked up to find Eddie standing there with an unreadable expression on his face.

 

“Hi, love,” he greeted, friendly enough. “What're you doing out of the car?”

 

Louis straightened himself; his forearm in Eddie’s gentle grasp where he had steadied him from the impact of their bodies. Even his skin tingled in excitement at the mundane touch; a faint reminder of all the _other_ touches that Eddie had afforded him with. Scorching hot touches at that.

 

“Caught short,” he forced a smile. “Didn’t want to risk peeing myself on your nice leather...”

 

Eddie’s eyes flicked down his body and back up, settling on his face with a slow blink. His lips set into a line and he looked suddenly tired. Louis refused to feel guilty about following him. But the part of himself that had admitted he might be falling for the enigmatic actor wanted to comfort him above everything else.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yep,” he shrugged.  “Found a nice tree to water...”

 

Eddie stared at him, fingers still grasping his arm until they let go slowly; running over his skin smoothly as he lowered his arm.

 

Louis tried not to shiver and failed.

 

“Am I taking you home?” He asked then, stepping back and it almost felt like an invitation. An invitation to go to the beach house, maybe and recreate the painting on the wall.

 

Eddie was eyeing him with an uncertain pout and Louis maybe wanted to kiss it off his mouth.

 

Louis cleared his throat and flicked his fringe out of his eye.

 

“Yeah. I uh...I just want to get settled and that before – before we go back to work,” He forced the words out as brightly as he could manage.

 

“Right,” Eddie breathed and if his eyes looked wary Louis told himself he was imagining it.

 

“You got your errand done?” Louis checked as he hastened back to the car.

 

“Yeah, I’m done,” Eddie replied and Louis tried not to let it feel like a rejection.

 

//

 

 

“Neil, fucking help me buddy,” Louis plopped onto his sofa with a sigh, his house phone cradled in his lap, fingers twisting the spiral wire connecting the handset to the base.

 

He couldn’t bring himself to check in at the office; he felt completely drained.

 

“What's up, Tommo? How was marriage counselling?”

 

“It wasn't—never mind,” Louis sighed, too tired to argue. “It was fucking awful. Touchy feely shit.”

 

“Touchy feely, huh?” Louis heard the smirk in Niall's voice. “How much did ya touch and feel then, Lou?”

 

Louis swallowed hard against the lump of guilt stuck in his throat.

 

“Can you overdose me?” He asked. “Can you get me out?”

 

“Tell me what’s up Tommo,” Niall persisted.

 

“He took more photos,” Louis shared quietly. “Stopped at a school on the way back.”

 

“Right, and?” Niall challenged. “Anything else?”

 

“No,” Louis lamented. “Except for my sanity. Please get me out of this?” He begged.

 

“Nope,” Niall announced far too brightly. “Need you to stay close to Big Dick so we can keep an eye on that camera of his. We want to know what he’s doing with those pictures.”

 

“He’s probably already got rid of them,” Louis mused.

 

“You aren’t still with him now?” Niall asked.

 

“No, strangely enough we're not actually chained together,” he sassed. _Anymore,_ his brain filled in silently.

 

“Shame, you might actually be cheerier if you were,” he accused. “But we need you to stay close to him, Lou. Can you do that?”

 

Louis stared at the blank wall opposite the sofa. He didn't want to be _away_ from Eddie if he was honest. He wanted to be so close to him that he didn’t know which heartbeat was his.

 

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I can do that.”

 

 

//

 

Louis woke up looking forward to having two days off to catch up with his paperwork; and to remind himself of the job he was being paid to do. He had to go into the studio later that day to discuss the next shoot, but once that meeting was out of the way; the filming wasn’t due until the end of the week.

 

The hearing was scheduled for the following week and he still had no solid evidence to contribute to the case in addition to what already sat on Eddie’s file. Niall had taken his broken ear-piece to fix it as quickly as possible which meant Louis was radio silent a _gain,_ not something he had a great track record with.

 

Louis could see why Niall needed him to try and stay close. If something was going to happen, it had to happen soon otherwise the hearing would be shaky at best.

 

He got out his paperwork to filter through the intelligence on Des from the New York meeting; wishing he could put the pieces of the puzzle together to work out what Eddie’s intentions were with his photographs.

 

His gut still told him it wasn’t tawdry; but he didn’t trust his instincts right now. He had been wrong before, not often; but when his emotions were involved he wasn’t a reliable source of reality.

 

The knock on his door was unexpected. The only people that knew he was staying at the town house were the Bureau and—

 

“Eddie,” he forced a smile as the handsome man appeared in his doorway.

 

Eddie’s eyes travelled over him slowly; clinging to his mouth as he smiled back.

 

“Hello, love.”

 

Louis cleared his throat.

 

“Have they changed the time of the meeting?” He wondered; checking his watch.

 

“Nope. Meeting is cancelled,” he shared; crossing his long legs; clad in denim flares; paired with a tucked-in, wide-lapelled pale blue shirt and his usual aviators.

 

“Oh?” Louis swallowed nervously.

 

“Massive flood at the studio after the storm,” Eddie shared with a smirk. “They’ve closed it for the rest of the week.”

 

“All week?” Louis glanced at him, heart skipping quickly in his chest. _Fuck._

 

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “But I’m bored so I thought I’d come and annoy you.”

 

Louis blinked. _That was his cue_.

 

“Oh,” he lifted his chin; surprised that he was Eddie’s first point of call in a bored moment.

 

Eddie bit his lower lip; eyes flicking back to Louis’ mouth.

 

“Can you come out to play?” He asked in a very deep voice.

 

“Er…sure,” he nodded quickly, turning back inside to fetch his wallet and keys.

 

//

 

“Do I get a ride in this ancient artefact?” Eddie ran his hand along the front of Louis’ Zodiac once Louis was in the drive.

 

Louis tutted.

 

“Don’t talk about Delilah that way…”

 

Eddie snorted.

 

“Pretty sure you should’ve named your car after a guy, seeing as it’s guys you usually ride,” Eddie accused gently.

 

“I don’t usually—” Louis paused from denying his _usual_ preferences. Since meeting Eddie; those had pretty much flown out of the window, anyway. “She’s not ancient,” he said instead.

 

“Nineteen sixty three,” Eddie considered as he slid into the passenger seat. “I love a classic.”

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“Whatever, Heddie. Where exactly are we going, anyway?” He asked as he started Delilah up.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“That’s why I came to you.”

 

Louis pursed his lips, lids falling halfway over his eyes coolly.

 

“I see. Now I’m your babysitter.”

 

“Since I’m _your_ Baby,” Eddie quipped with a flirty flash of a smile. “Does that mean you’ll sit on me?”

 

Louis snorted. “I’m not a bottom.”

 

“Exactly,” Eddie grinned; dimple deepening. “And today would be the perfect day to change that.”

 

Louis gritted his teeth. _Every_ day was the perfect day to fuck him. He just couldn’t. _Shouldn’t_ ; his mind adjusted quietly.

 

“Not going to happen,” he smirked.

 

Eddie’s smile softened and he leaned forward to curl his fingers around Louis’ knee the way he seemed to like doing, now.

 

“Come and relax at the beach house,” he suggested.

 

“What about your car?” Louis tilted his head towards the Ferrari tucked in his drive.

 

“I’ll pick it up later,” he waved his hand dismissively.

 

Louis nodded and pulled out of the drive.

 

//

 

He must have fallen asleep.

 

Eddie had a games room where they'd had a relaxed round of Pool before lunch; settling on the huge white sofa with ice-cold drinks and Eddie's books to read.

 

The secret library had been something of a surprise. But Louis carefully schooled his face not to show it because Eddie watched him furtively while he selected a book; almost as if he would snatch Louis back out of the beloved room should he so much as _breathe_ wrong in there.

 

The book he’d picked to read was Jekyll and Hyde. When he stirred, apparently some hours later, he searched his surroundings with his eyes and found the book carefully rescued and marked; nestled on the coffee table. Twisting his body to gain orientation; Louis found himself to be curled up with his head in Eddie’s lap.

 

Eddie's head was knocked back as he too, slept. But it was Eddie's gentle fingers in Louis' hair and the protective arm he'd draped over Louis' body that stirred something within him. Something far more potent than desire. It felt like _belonging_.

 

When Louis shifted again to comfort himself; Eddie’s fingers curled to grip his top; subconsciously keeping him close.

 

“Stay a while,” Eddie mumbled, head tilting to one side as he slitted his eyes open to check on Louis. “I’ll make dinner,” he added with a sleepy smile.

 

Louis curled his hand around the arm Eddie had laid across him and nuzzled into his thighs to comfort himself; his tiredness soon tugging him back into sleep

 

//

 

“You can just stay here you know,” Eddie suggested as he pan-fried some steak.

 

Louis was in charge of the salad, chopping vegetables with huffy impatience.

 

“I could,” Louis replied. “But I’ll run out of clothes,” he smiled wanly.

 

Eddie smiled at him innocently.

 

“My plan is exposed,” he teased.

 

Louis snorted.

 

“You don’t usually need much of a plan to get my clothes off.”

 

Eddie's eyes slid down him, a delighted quirk of his lips setting Louis' heart racing.

 

“I like to be prepared,” he murmured. “Anyway, you can wear mine,” He added.

 

Louis narrowly avoided cutting his finger. Wearing Eddie's clothes was the _last_ thing his self-resolve needed.

 

“Maybe just for tonight,” he ventured.

 

Eddie pouted, dramatically flipping his steaks.

 

“Come on, Willy. What else are you gonna do with no shoot?” He asked.

 

Louis swallowed.

 

“Nothing huge,” he murmured.

 

“See? You can do something huge. You can do _me_.” He smirked. “Or anything you like, in fact,” he added with a flutter of his fingers.

 

Louis began to dump his salad onto the two plates Eddie had put out, ignoring his blatant innuendo.

 

“What about horse riding?” Louis enquired. “Can we go horse riding?”

 

He turned to check on the steak, Eddie looking at Louis like _he_ was the meal.

 

“Sure, Will. We can try _riding_ ,” he agreed, turning towards Louis and sliding his arms around his waist to draw him close; gently pressing Louis against the counter as he leaned down to slant their mouths together; lips owning Louis’ before he’d even had the chance to grasp Eddie’s arms to protest his move.

 

When Louis did grip his biceps; he felt the muscle bunch and flex under his fingers where Eddie tightened his arms to press closer; nudging between Louis’ thighs with a soft sound in his throat. Louis shifted to let Eddie’s knee slide between his own; hands gliding up his arms to smooth over his shoulders; the fingers of one hand curling into his soft hair as he flicked his tongue into Eddie’s marauding mouth.

 

Just as soon as Eddie had entrapped him; he released him with a knowing smile and sparkly eyes.

 

“It’s all about sex with you,” Louis objected, but he sounded far too breathy to be taken seriously.

 

“Who’s talking about sex?” Eddie twisted away smoothly; dishing up the steak and lifting the plates to carry them to the table. “I’m talking about horses. There’s a stable further down the coast and we can take the ponies onto the sand.”

 

Louis watched him go with a heavy thud to his heart-beat; adjusting his glasses with a nervous twitch. His ear piece was still broken from the road-trip but Louis could still hear Niall’s voice in his head, gently teasing him about Eddie’s outright flirting and his own weakness for giving in to the seduction.

 

“C'mon kitten,” Eddie added with an endearing smile as he sat down while Louis hovered by the counter.

 

Louis sighed and followed him to the table, sliding into a seat.

 

//

 

 

Louis' pony was _tiny._

 

He slid a narrowed-eyed look towards Eddie as he sat proudly atop his own horse; ever the regal-looking Prince of porn.

 

"I still don't get why my horse had to be so small," he complained.

 

Eddie shot him a wide flash of his teeth; a giggle bubbling up from his chest and shot to the breeze cutting across the sand.

 

"Because you're a kitten," Eddie smirked, lips twisting smugly.

 

Louis would like to argue that point for a few more hours but another sweep of his gaze over the very soft-looking Eddie had him biting his tongue.

 

He was wearing a pair of cream deck pants with a wide hem with a soft linen white shirt tucked into them, unbuttoned to his naval which drew a derisive eye-roll from Louis.

 

_May as well go topless._

 

 _Fuck_.

 

That idea had him gesturing his horse into an unintended canter.

 

"Are we racing?" Eddie enquired loudly behind him, geeing his horse to catch up. 

 

Louis glanced over his shoulder, surprised to find Eddie an accomplished rider. The connotations which accompanied the sight of his lean thighs straddling the horse, muscles taut and flexing with the strain were enough to have Louis regretting his life choices.

 

_Shit._

 

His dick chose _that_ moment to remember the night before. When he and Eddie had come in for bed after a surprisingly refreshing and playful swimming session with only one incident of regression when Louis had spontaneously kissed Eddie underneath the water. 

 

When Eddie had invited him to share his master suite, Louis had climbed into the gigantic bed expecting to have to find an excuse to curb his advances. Only that-

 

 _That hadn't happened_.

 

Eddie had yawned and flopped onto the mattress behind him, shifting to curve his long body around Louis' once Louis had settled. And Louis had laid awake wondering if he would _touch._ If he would fulfil Louis' accusations about his sex addiction. 

 

But Eddie had just fallen straight to sleep.

 

And Louis knew it wasn't a case of him not being interested. The hard length of Eddie’s dick nestling between his ass cheeks was a sensation that Louis was becoming far too familiar with, but it was there when he woke up with his own hard-on to deal with.

 

And that was still a problem.

 

It was a problem as Louis tried to get his stirring dick under control as Eddie galloped to overtake him on the sand.

 

"Winner gets a blowjob!" Eddie yelled as he passed.

 

Louis was happy to let him win _that_ race; steering Hitchcock towards the rocks where Eddie was headed. The pony seemed to struggle in the wet sand; bucking Louis off into the water.

 

"For fuck's sake," he huffed as he landed on his back in the encroaching tide.

 

Eddie cheered as he reached the rocks, turning his steed to search for Louis.

 

"Kitten?"

 

Louis sat up, checking himself for injuries.

 

"Down here," he mumbled as he got to his feet; dripping wet.

 

Eddie gracefully climbed off his horse to run over; arms wrapping around Louis gently.

 

"You okay, Willy?" 

 

Louis tried to budge him away.

 

"Fine," he huffed, flicking his fringe away from his face.

 

Eddie combed tender fingers through his damp hair to tame it back. 

 

"You look pretty good wet," he smiled.

 

It took Louis three long seconds of staring into earnest olive eyes to realise he actually meant it.

 

"Yeah?" He asked, swallowing.

 

"Yeah," Eddie murmured, eyes flicking to his mouth but before he could move to kiss him, Louis stepped forward to hook a foot around his ankle; tumbling Eddie backwards into waves where he landed on top of him with a satisfied grin as he pushed Eddie's face into the squall.

 

"So do you!" He laughed as Eddie got soaked, too. "You look _amazing_ in fact!"

 

"H-hey!" Eddie choked, hands vainly trying to push Louis away. "Stop that! Will!"

 

Louis froze, heart constricting as Eddie's fingers circled his wrists. _Fuck._ He'd believed it was real; for one heart breaking minute it had felt like Eddie was his _boyfriend._ It felt like the semi burgeoning in his shorts could become a whole lot more if they carried on wrestling on the wet sand. And fuck it if it didn't feel a bit like he imagined _love_ might feel, if he was falling into it. 

 

Falling into Eddie on the sand felt a lot like falling in love but Louis knew better than that. He was the pro, here. He was the guy who finished first.

 

And yet Eddie's dimpled smile and the way he patiently waited for Louis to kiss him had him wanting to be anywhere but in the middle of a job.

 

Eddie pouted his lips with a slow blink; knowing Louis' gaze was now focused on his mouth. Louis rolled his eyes and dipped down to place a tender kiss to his puckered lips, rolling away quickly afterwards with a guilt-ridden sigh.

 

//

 

Louis ended up reading again. 

 

Curled up on Eddie's sofa beneath the orgasm painting; Eddie's head was nestled between his shoulder and his neck and his legs folded up by his body; arms crossed while Louis used one hand to hold his book and the other to comb soothing fingers through Eddie's hair; or to trail onto his neck sensuously if he stirred.

 

The comforting action seemed to settle Eddie back into his snooze, earning Louis longer with his book.

 

"You can stay until Monday if you want."

 

Louis glanced down but Eddie's eyes were closed, lips parted and lashes fluttering against his cheeks as he fidgeted.

 

Louis bit his lip, smoothing Eddie's curly hair behind his cute ear gently. Eddie's lips pulled into a pleased curve and he nestled closer.

 

"You want me to?" Louis asked in a whisper.

 

"Mmm," Eddie agreed. "Comfy," he added as he rubbed his cheek against Louis' borrowed t-shirt.

 

Louis smiled, brushing his knuckles over Eddie's cheek and settling his book safely aside to wrap both arms around him.

 

"You must be a sloth," Louis decided, earning a snort of derision from Eddie. 

 

Eddie knocked his head back on Louis' shoulder to look at him through half-open eyes.

 

"Why are you so mean, Willy?"

 

Louis smirked.

 

"Apparently guys do that when they like someone."

 

Eddie squinted at him bemusedly.

 

"Do  _you_  do that when you like someone?" He asked, voice rough with sleep.

 

Louis paused; caught between lies and truth.

 

"It's possible that that's something I do..."

 

Eddie grasped his t-shirt in the hand that could reach.

 

"Wanna know what I do?"

 

Louis scoffed.

 

"Not sure I do," he mused.

 

Eddie tugged at the fabric of his top.

 

"I sleep on them," he smiled wanly, tucking himself back against Louis' body to do just that.

 

And had Eddie just--?

 

Did he..?

 

_Shit._

 

Louis didn't know if he meant-- Well what it _sounded_ as though he meant. He placed a kiss amongst Eddie's curls and murmured a prayer to whoever was listening. 

 

 //

 

“I’m taking you out.” Eddie swept into the lounge and plucked the book from Louis’ fingers, Louis’ eyes drawn to the slender length of his legs encased in purple velvet flares; tight over his thighs and pooling at his calves where his socked toes wriggled cutely.

 

“What?” Louis snapped his head up, caught looking again.

 

“We’re going out,” Eddie repeated, sliding his hands onto his waist underneath his open suit jacket. It matched his pants and looked like it would fit his torso perfectly once it was buttoned.

 

“Where?” Louis frowned. “I don’t have anything smart…”

 

“I’ve got some of Zayn’s stuff here,” Eddie assured. “You’ll fit into it.”

 

Louis arched a brow.

 

“Pretty sure I’m not going to pull off something that a semi-god wore,” he huffed.

 

Eddie poked Louis’ knee with his foot, gently.

 

“C’mon. It’ll be fun. You’ll look good, I promise.”

 

Louis narrowed his lashes at him, wondering how on earth Eddie planned to fulfil that promise.

 

“Fine,” he got up slowly, with a reluctant stretch; arching his back. Eddie’s eyes lingered on his tummy; lips twitching slightly. “I’ll put the stuff on but if I look stupid, it’s not happening, Juliet,” he warned.

 

“Kitten, you’d look good in a sack,” Eddie purred in his most persuasive voice.

 

Louis rolled his eyes and stomped up to the spare room where Eddie had laid out some clothes- a pale blue, gently-flared trouser and a wide-lapelled blue, crushed silk shirt. There was no way in hell he was going to look good in it but he rolled his eyes and showered anyway; pulling the clothes on more for Eddie’s amusement than anything.

 

“You ready, Will?” Eddie pushed into the room via the slightly-open door just as Louis was buttoning the stiff; wide cuffs of the shirt.

 

“I look ridiculous,” he huffed; flicking his fringe away from his eye.

 

Eddie stepped into his space; long fingers circling his wrists among the open cuffs; loose fabric bunching as he tightened his grip.

 

“Kitten,” his voice was deep and appreciative as his eyes went over him, searching for something and apparently finding it as they lit up. “Wow…”

 

“Yeah, wow,” Louis snorted. “This is how bad I can make something look…”

 

“Fuck,” Eddie pulled Louis closer to himself; hands sliding over his waist and settling on his bottom. “These pants fit just right,” he commented; squeezing his fleshy ass lightly.

 

“I’m too short for flares,” he stated; but it was too soft and a bit breathless.

 

Eddie’s lips pressed above his eye-brow.

 

“Turn around,” he suggested gently.

 

“What?” Louis looked up, irritated. If this was Eddie’s idea of some stupid joke; to turn him around just to laugh at him or—

 

“Look,” Eddie guided him to face the opposite way where the wall-to wall wardrobes were covered with full-length mirrors.

 

Louis stared sullenly at his reflection. One of Eddie’s hands slid from his waist; sliding over his tummy to nestle Louis against him; his ass perfectly fitting against Eddie’s crotch which the other man acknowledged with a vibrating hum of satisfaction.

 

“Look at you,” Eddie encouraged. “You’re perfect, Will. You’re tiny but—your eyes,” he described. “This colour on you, just—”

 

Louis let out a tight breath; straightening his back and tugging at the shirt a little.

 

“Beautiful body,” Eddie smiled into his hair. “Look at your thighs in those trousers…”

 

Louis swallowed; biting his lip. He might not look awful. It was possible. Maybe. He went to shift from Eddie’s hold; stilled by his warm hands.

 

“Wait,” Eddie twisted Louis to the side; palming his ass-cheek. “See this?”

 

Louis huffed and tried to escape; but Eddie only brought him against his chest; hands fully grasping his butt once more.

 

“I mean, we don’t _have_ to go out,” he raised a brow; nudging his semi-interested dick against Louis’ hip. “You could be right, these trousers might look better off than on…”

 

“Whatever, Juliet,” Louis tried to clear the husk from his throat. “Since I’ve got this monstrosity on I may as well entertain the masses,” he mused.

 

Eddie did let him wriggle from his grip then; watching Louis tie on his white sneakers which strangely didn’t look out of place with the pale blue suit.

 

“I’ve bummed us a ride to the bar,” Eddie told him with a smile. “See you downstairs.”

 

And if Louis had to rearrange himself in his tight trousers so that his hard dick didn’t look quite so prominent; then Eddie didn’t need to know.

 

//

 

“Bull riding?” Louis stared at the mechanical bull set up in a pit of huge, leather cushions and glanced back at Eddie incredulously.

 

“You wanted to go riding,” Eddie merely smirked; stalking to the bar with all the self-assuredness that Louis had come to expect from him.

 

Patrons flocked to greet him, women pressing themselves to his front audaciously and guys tipping their cowboy hats. It was a Southern bar; all dark wood and whiskey bottles; saddles mounted on the walls with spurred boots nestled on shelves alongside holsters and pistols.

 

Louis might have just found his idea of heaven.

 

“This place is amazing,” he mused; looking around for Eddie and finding him lost in a small sea of people at the bar. He rolled his eyes and strolled over to the corner where pool tables were set up.

 

“Fancy a game, Tiny?” A tobacco-chewing southerner drawled as Louis leaned on a high table.

 

“Uh, I’m not very good,” Louis smiled politely.

 

“No stakes,” the man assured, straightening from his game; which apparently he was having alone since the other three tables were consumed with pairs of players. The man approached him with a hot look sliding over his body in a way that made Louis feel cheap.

 

He glanced at the bar again; seeing Eddie knocking back shots with three other cowboys.

 

“Alright,” Louis agreed reluctantly; taking up a cue and chalking the tip.

 

“Bet you like chalking your tip, don’t ya?” The guy winked. “My name’s Jerome, by the way.”

 

“Will,” Louis eyed him uncertainly; blowing off the chalk dust before setting up for his shot.

 

The palm landing on his ass wasn’t unexpected but it was over-familiar.

 

“Hey,” Louis straightened, brows furrowing. “I’m with someone.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Jerome smirked; knocking back his hat; tonguing a toothpick with a dirty look. “What can we do to fix that?”

 

“You can stop touching his ass, for a start,” Eddie’s voice cut into the exchange.

 

Jerome’s eyes flickered from Louis to the newcomer.

 

“Twist,” Jerome greeted with a toothy grin that didn’t appear welcoming. Louis noticed his gold tooth and the browning edges of his other teeth. “You’re not usually that fussy about who touches your thangs…”

 

Eddie’s lids dropped halfway over his eyes.

 

“You’re right, I’m not.” He said succinctly, arching his brow.

 

Louis looked between the men; edging towards Eddie.

 

“Why don’t we just go and ride the bull?” He suggested; glancing at Jerome who was in a staring battle with Eddie. “No harm done, it was just a quick game of pool…”

 

“Not gonna share, Eddie?” Jerome asked, licking his teeth.

 

“Nope,” Eddie reached for Louis’ wrist and pulled him closer, Louis stumbling into him slightly.

 

“Hey,” Louis splayed his hand underneath Eddie’s velvet jacket; soothing him over the thin layer of his shirt.

 

Eddie made a growling sound in his throat and looped his arm around Louis’ waist; curling him in.

 

“Shame,” Jerome blinked, apparently conceding defeat in the silent battle. “You picked a pretty one this time…”

 

Eddie curled his lip; dropping his arm to lead Louis away by the hand.

 

“Can I not leave you alone for five minutes?” He mused as he tugged Louis over to the bar where the rowdy cowboys greeted him with a raucous cheer. “Will, meet the guys. Guys, Will,” Eddie introduced.

 

“I’m Dec,” the smallest of the men tipped his hat with a grin. “This is Lachlan and Pony,” he pointed to the other two men who were lining up shots on the bar.

 

“Nice to meet you,” Louis nodded, taking the offered shot-glass from Eddie’s fingers. The liquid spilled slightly, and Eddie kept Louis’ gaze as he licked it off his fingers.

 

“Winner takes a body shot off of the other person,” Eddie suggested.

 

“You settin’ a bet?” Lachlan turned around to enquire curiously; winking at Louis.

 

“We’re going to ride the bull,” Eddie shared. “Winner gets a body shot…”

 

“What about riding me, Princess?” Pony asked; eyeing Louis interestedly.

 

“Not going to happen,” Eddie elbowed the man away with a huff.

 

Louis glanced around the three of them confusedly. Did everyone in the bar want to fuck him? He must have entered some alternative reality where he had suddenly become attractive. He eyed the suit carefully. Maybe Zayn’s cool-as-fuck attitude was infused into the material of his clothes, somehow.

 

“Let him speak for himself, Twister,” Pony complained mildly.

 

The four men stared at Louis.

 

“Oh,” he smiled tightly. “Yeah, I’m uh…I’m with,” he gestured weakly towards Eddie who passed him another shot; a wolfish smile enveloping the liquid as he swallowed it down.

 

“He’s with me,” Eddie repeated, almost proudly, smacking his lips together with a satisfied sigh.

 

Louis’ gaze clung to Eddie’s as he knocked back his shot; Eddie’s eyes slipping to his throat to watch him swallow.

 

“Maybe later,” Eddie drawled lazily; blinking over soft, green eyes.

 

Louis tried to ignore the heat mushrooming in his belly. As he had already worked out, the suit trousers weren’t forgiving to any type of swelling in his groin and he didn’t particularly want Harry’s cowboy friends to be privy to his unwanted reaction to the other man. He took a deep breath and looked over to the bull pit.

 

“Let’s ride then, Juliet,” he challenged.

 

The three men sniggered at Louis’ nickname, Eddie rolling his eyes and fingering his hair.

 

“Fine, get ready to climb on that bar, kitten,” he retorted.

 

//

 

Twenty-nine seconds?

 

That’s all he could— _twenty_ - _nine_ seconds?!

 

Louis watched as Eddie picked himself up from the sprawl he had landed in; caught up in the mass of his own flares as he struggled to climb to the edge of the bull pit.

 

“Wow you didn't last long…bit of a disappointment that,” he teased.

Eddie drew himself to the edge of the pit and stumbled a bit; steadied by Louis’ hand.

 

“I guess I just didn’t have something exciting enough between my thighs,” he licked his swollen-looking lips; tongue lingering in the corner suggestively as latent eyes flicked to Louis’. “Your turn.”

 

“Let’s not forget this was your idea, Angel,” Louis needled. “Sounds like you’re all talk....or should I say, you’re full of _bull_ shit”…”

 

Eddie squinted at him, lips quirking.  “Did you just..?”

 

Louis grinned, poking him gently in the shoulder.

“Mmhmm looks like I did....up for another ride, cowboy?”

 

“S’your turn,” Eddie slurred, smirking. “Want to see your technique…”

 

“Bet you do,” Louis mused; rolling his eyes.

 

Eddie shifted; arms caging Louis loosely against the bar.

 

“How about best of three?” He murmured against his ear.

 

“Are you changing the rules to cheat, Juliet?” Louis snorted, fingers tangling into the back of his shirt.

 

“I guess I’m just raising the stakes...” He murmured; rutting subtly against Louis’ hip; teeth biting into his bottom lip as he made a sound in his throat.

 

“That’s not all you’re raising,” Louis flicked him a smirk, pressing his thumb beneath Eddie’s lower lip to release it from the hold of his teeth; drawing the pad of his thumb over his lip slowly.

 

“I love it when you talk dirty to me.” Eddie said; Louis’ thumb still weighing down his lip.

 

Louis made an insufferable face and pushed away from the bar; slipping out of Eddie’s arms.

 

“Right, bring me the bull,” he announced; hopping up onto the machine and settling his pale blue thighs around it.

 

//

 

Louis had never seen Eddie look as smug as he did now; swaggering back from his third try on the bull; victorious in his second two tries; Louis’ attempts failing pathetically in comparison. He hadn’t even made it past thirty seconds on his three tries; eyes rolling in watching Eddie lap up the glory of his success.

 

Eddie thumped the bar with a firm palm as he approached.

 

“Up you get then, kitten,” he invited.

 

Louis glanced at the barman.

 

“Are you sure about this?” He asked.

 

The barman grinned; pointing two fingers in a  shooting salute towards Eddie.

 

“Just keep it clean, guys,” the barman pleaded.

 

Eddie smirked and Louis climbed up with a sigh; perching on the edge.

 

“Don’t bite,” He instructed huffily. “And don’t spill it everywhere…”

 

“C’mon, Willy,” Eddie caressed him with his smooth voice. “Take it like a man. Don’t be a sore loser, now, it’s not a good look…”

 

Louis twisted to lay his back on the bar-top; jerking his neck in discomfort.

 

“Here,” Eddie offered his bundled-up velvet jacket as a pillow for his head. “May as well get comfy,” he grinned.

 

Louis sighed; fidgeting.

 

Eddie’s fingers tugged at his shirt gently.

 

“Want me to unbutton you there, kitten?”

 

“Fuck off,” Louis slapped his hand away; tugging the crushed silk shirt from his suit pants and drawing it up his body to bare his midriff. A loud round of whoops and hollers sounded out; Louis sucking in his tummy in a bout of self-consciousness.

 

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Eddie promised in a deep voice and Louis glanced at him, wondering if he meant the satisfaction of winning or the act of drinking from his belly-button.

 

“Just hurry up and get it over with,” Louis complained. “If I must be humiliated this way, make it quick.”

 

Eddie smiled at him; eyes bright with something other than the euphoric haze of alcohol. Louis let his gaze flicker over him, slow and assessing; from his sweaty, wildly curling hair to the wet-looking dip in his throat; the way his shirt stretched over his chest; damp patches from their spilled drinks and sweat patches underneath his arms. His gaze dipped lower; imagining the delicious thighs he knew were hidden by the swathe of baby-soft velvet; the material cupping his junk nicely enough that Louis could make out just _how_ excited Eddie was about winning; his dick surging against his zipper shyly; needing a little encouragement to break free.

 

“Maybe the loser should be tonguing the winner,” Eddie commented when he caught the path of Louis’ gaze.

 

Louis swallowed and shifted his hips as Eddie picked up the shot glass set on the side; carefully spilling it into Louis’ belly-button hole. He giggled as it inevitably dribbled out; wide tongue lathing over Louis’ tummy to track the first rivulet with a happy hum. His tongue flexed into Louis’ belly button expertly; lips slurping at the liquid to suck it all up. And Louis thought he had a handle on it; figured that the thought of a bar full of cowboys watching him get on the bar would be enough to curb any errant thoughts but they were there regardless; flooding into his mind unwanted and stark.

 

Because Eddie was French-kissing him; tongue delving into the sensitive dip in his belly; lips tenderly caressing the skin and whose idea was it to take one shot for each ride because by the time Eddie had kissed his body intimately for the third time, Louis didn’t know what day it was anymore, or which way was up.

 

He groaned weakly as his dick sprung filthily upwards for attention; Eddie’s hand covering him up in a gentlemanly fashion; but only causing Louis’ to twitch into the touch.

 

“You’re so—”

 

“Do I get to lick my whiskey outta there too?” Jerome’s voice cut over Eddie’s about -to-be confession.

 

Louis blinked heavy eyes open; reaching for Eddie’s shirt and fixing his fingers into the fabric to keep him close.

 

“This is a party for two,” Eddie told the man.

 

“I mean, we all know how you enjoy a good threesome,” Jerome cajoled. “Right?”

 

Louis glanced towards his feet where the other man tried to press close to the bar; Eddie’s body protecting Louis from his approach.

 

“Wrong,” Eddie sighed, shifting to gather Louis up into a seated position. Louis slid his feet over the edge of the bar and slithered down; right into Eddie’s circling arms. “Fuck off, old man.”

 

Jerome glanced at Louis; blowing him a creepy kiss.

 

“Later, darlin’” he winked. “Promise you’ll be mine…”

 

Louis arched a brow; wanting to tell the guy that actually he knew two types of martial arts alongside the highest grade of attack training given in the whole of the United States, but he couldn’t blow his cover for the sake of one pervert.

 

Eddie’s hands curved around his sides gently; squeezing as he looked into his face.

 

“You okay, kitten?”

 

Louis nodded; hand pressing involuntarily against his chest; thumbing at the buttons that were still done up on his flimsy shirt.

 

“Yeah, I kinda want that too,” Eddie murmured; cupping his face to kiss him; surging close to press his back hard against the bar.

 

Louis made a noise in his throat that was lost in the loud roars of the patrons watching them kiss; Louis pushing onto his tiptoes to kiss Eddie back; fingers grasping his shoulders and working their way over his back; curling around his neck and into his hair as he tilted his head and opened his mouth to the invasion of Eddie’s tongue.

 

Their hard bodies wedged tight together; sweet friction earned as Eddie thrust up against him; Louis twisting his hips to rub back; Eddie’s arms wrapping around his waist to haul him close and Louis went weak when he did that; when he took care of Louis in a way that Louis had never let himself be cared for.

 

His fingers dug into the back of his hand; his free hand slipping lower to cup him through his velvet flares and Eddie’s low grunt and the way he surged into the touch had Louis wanting the bar to be empty and for them to be surrounded by palm trees and cool waves of the sea where they could float out and come together again; surrounded by the buoyancy of water.

 

“Gonna make me shoot, Will? In front of all these people? In front of my friends?” Eddie rumbled; eyes a dark as Louis stroked him through his trousers unashamedly; fingers fitting around his obscene shape.

 

“Want me to?” Louis breathed, keeping his gaze and ignoring the flailing limbs of the rest of the bar-goers cheering on their lewd show.

 

Eddie’s smile was slow and dimpled; swollen lip bitten almost coquettishly.

 

“There’s a first time for everything,” he murmured.

 

And Louis stared at him, shocked. Because he was certain that a man like Eddie Twist had done a whole lot more than come in his pants in public; in front of on-lookers; but his almost-shy smile told Louis that he had maybe pegged him wrong. As generous as Eddie clearly was with his love; apparently it didn’t extend to voyeurism and that filled Louis with some inexplicable dash of hope that there were other firsts he’d get to experience with Eddie.

 

If – If it was real, of course. If it was—fuck.

 

“You close?” Louis asked; Eddie moaning and kissing him weakly; rutting against his palm.

 

“So fucking close,” Eddie breathed; crowding him in; trying to hide his blatant reaction to Louis’ touch.

 

Louis’ shirt was still untucked; edges strewn and belly sticky as Eddie’s fingers crawled onto his skin; smoothing over the taut muscles of his lower body and finding anchor on his hip. Eddie ground hard into him; Louis’ hand painfully crushed but he squeezed his eyes shut and grasped into the back of his hair as he found a slow rhythm to bring himself close to the thrall.

 

Louis could hear the excited chatter of the bar drift away from them; probably focused on the old TV playing the game; voices yelling urgently for a touch-down of a different kind to the one Louis was desperate to achieve.

 

“Come on then, cowboy,” Louis coaxed; pressing the heel of his hand against the heated ridge of Eddie’s dick; sliding his wrist over him as he gasped and rutted against him harder. “Show me what you got…”

 

Eddie kissed him at the last second; panted, staccato gasps against his lips as he finally found his happy place; Louis’ hand slipping down to cup his neck and cradle him as he jerked against him; slow and heavy; consciously trying to hide his release.

 

“Fuck,” Eddie whispered as Louis pressed a kiss to his lips, gently.

 

Louis smirked; his own arousal throbbing painfully in the front of his trousers; Eddie's body sinking into his with soft sighs of happiness.

 

“Kitten,” he opened his eyes; fixing Louis with their dark colour.

 

Louis flicked a look around the bar; most of the men now avidly watching the game; except for Dec who turned to give him  thumbs-up.

 

“Nobody saw,” Louis promised, kissing his forehead.

 

Eddie smirked, eyeing his crotch.

 

“Think I need to fix that,” he suggested; thumb sliding up beside the ridge of Louis’ curved dick.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Louis guided his hand away.

 

Eddie looked at him, heavy-lidded, and nodded, licking his lips as he stepped back.

 

“Let’s,” he agreed easily, following Louis outside.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Louis woke up to Eddie’s arm looped lowly around his hips; his nose pressed into his arm-pit and the ticklish feel of his breath on his skin.

 

Louis reached out to tidy his hair; wondering what the next shoot would be like. So much had happened since their last, tension-riddled shoot and Louis wasn’t sure he could pick apart what was real and wasn’t anymore. He wasn’t sure he _wanted_ to.

 

After they had stepped outside of the bar, Louis had come hard in Eddie’s hand with his trousers unzipped and the cold air lapping at his thighs. Eddie’s kisses had warmed him up; along with his body and somehow they had made it home though he wasn’t sure how when he thought about it.

 

Did Eddie always bring his work-partners home with him? Did he usually lick whiskey from their belly and French-kiss their skin? Did he come hard with gasping, soft sounds; or was he usually in control; practiced noises and facial expressions to go with each scenario?

 

Louis maybe needed to know. He needed to know everything so that he could better decide just how deep to fall.

 

Eddie’s eyes opened; lashes brushing Louis’ skin. He shifted; lips pouty as he frowned; orientating himself. He lifted his head; yawning with a stretch and propping himself on an elbow as he looked at Louis. He didn’t seem surprised to find Louis already awake; looking back.

 

“Hungry?” Eddie asked, thumb brushing at Louis’ navel as his lips quirked in some kind of silent memory.

 

The faint sunlight caught on his bristle; sleepy eyes puffy underneath.

 

“No, I’m good,” Louis promised; mixed emotions swirling within him.

 

Eddie nodded and settled back into his previous nestling pose; sighing out against Louis’ skin.

 

 

 

//

 

It was all Niall's fault, really.

 

 _Stay close to him,_ he'd said.

 

Niall maybe hadn’t considered that four days in Eddie's company was equivalent to professional suicide.

_Jesus._

Louis couldn’t get much closer if he tried. Eddie let out a surprised gasp as Louis pushed a hand against the shower wall and then crowded the younger man up against it; the stark cold of the tile drawing his gasp of breath.

 

Eddie shivered, leg hooking over Louis' hip so he grasped it and pushed between his thighs to press their dicks together.

 

“Fuck, _yeah_ ,” Eddie murmured as he clutched the back of Louis’ neck to tug him in for a kiss; something that Louis tried to resist giving in to and failed; licking into his mouth with a slow groan.

 

Louis had dressed in a Devil costume for their shoot; black sheer briefs and a shirt; eye-liner and leather wrist guards, with little horns on a headband pushed into his hair. Eddie had been juxtaposed in white; iridescent sequinned hot pants, lace up boots and a pretty lace choker to go with his fluffy halo and feathered wings strapped to his back.

 

Louis had spread him out against the wall then, too, Eddie’s hands splayed as Louis pressed into his back; letting his dick find a home in his sequinned ass-cheeks.

 

“Ready to fuck me yet?” Eddie panted; teeth sweetly biting at Louis jaw.

 

Louis hitched him up a bit; dark eyes narrowing.

 

“Not here,” he breathed.

 

Eddie's nostrils flared and something softened in his eyes.

 

Eddie's breathing quickened, and he nodded; the arm wrapped around Louis' shoulders slipping away so that he could slide his hand between their bodies to grip Louis' dick in his wet fingers.

 

“You looked so hot today,” Eddie told him in a gruff voice. “Sexy devil, hm?”

 

Louis smirked, biting his lip against the pleasure of Eddie's touch.

 

“Told you I’m not a fucking _kitten_ ,” he huffed.

 

Eddie laughed breathily against his cheek; angling his hips so he could take both of their dicks in one hand. His lashes flickered under the spray of water; red lips fallen open.

 

“You're a fucking Angel, though,” Louis teased his fingertip at Eddie’s rim. “I was right about that...”

 

The scene had finished with Louis holding Eddie up with his back to the wall and his legs wrapped around Louis' waist and both their come pooling in a sticky mess over their bodies.

 

Ben had been exceptionally happy at the change in dynamic.  He’d been smug about the fact that his suggested weekend away had worked.

 

He didn’t see the way Eddie had licked his lower lip slowly when he'd called ‘Cut' for the scene; or the way Louis’ eyes had clung to the move. He’d slid from his Directing chair and turned away by the time Louis had tilted his head to press a tender kiss to Eddie's lips, his dark lashes fanning his cheeks.

 

And Ben didn’t notice how Louis carefully helped Eddie untangle from his body; or the way Eddie took Louis' hand to lead him to the dressing rooms.

 

He didn’t see, but all of those things happened _._

//

 

Eddie was lounged on the sofa in his dressing room when Louis eventually left the shower with damp hair.

 

Amongst their reminiscing about the film shoot; they'd both come in the same spectacular way Louis was becoming far too used to. He tried to assign some of the excitement of sex with Eddie to his porn-star status but the sight of him as he walked up to the sofa made him question that concept.

 

Eddie was wearing a pair of comfy-looking dark denim dungarees over a white vest which Louis highly suspected had belonged to _him_ , once. Eddie’s feet were bare and it wasn’t the first time Louis had seen him bare footed; but suddenly the child-like pose tugged at something in his chest.

 

“Wanna go for ice cream?” Eddie looked up from his water-ring toss game to ask.

 

Louis pushed his fingers through his drying fringe. He really _shouldn't._ But Niall _had_ told him to stay close. Louis hadn’t worked out what had happened to the camera _or_ the film and fuck it if he actually had work to do when he just wanted the whole case to be over. He flicked his eyes to Eddie.

“I want three scoops,” was his reply.

 

“Dark bitter chocolate I hope,” Eddie smirked.

 

Louis’ lips twitched into a smile.

 

“Think I earned a scoop of caramel,” he argued.

 

Eddie's lips tugged his smile deeper into his mouth; enough to flash his dimples.

 

“Think you did.”

 

//

 

Eddie tugged Louis over to the couch in the corner; Connie indignantly by-passed while Eddie favoured Louis for receiving his attention.

 

Eddie hovered while Louis sat down and then Eddie sat beside him and looped his knees over Louis’ thigh with a sultry smile.

 

“This okay with you, Willy? I’d hate to break your code of conduct with a little lap-sitting...”

 

“Not _actually_ sat in my lap, so...”

 

Eddie’s eyes lit up.

 

“All you have to is ask,” he purred, curling his fingers through the back of Louis' hair. Louis smirked and shook his head slowly.

 

“We'd shock the entire eating public into a homophobic protest,” He mused.

 

Eddie shrugged.

 

“I know how to box, you know.”

 

Louis scoffed and settled a hand on Eddie’s thigh; eyeing Eddie's bowl of ice cream. They’d decided to share four scoops.

 

“You’re too dainty to box,” Louis denied.

 

“I am not! Take it back!”

 

“Nope,” Louis shook his head stubbornly.  “A man who owns pink socks and whines when’s he's held down cannot _possibly--"_

Louis paused, Eddie’s wide eyes flicking to him and staring; his cheeks hollowed as he swallowed his spoonful of dessert. _Shit._ He hadn’t been thinking about what he was saying. And it had just— _fuck. It had slipped out._

Eddie swallowed the ice cream and cleared his throat.

 

“You wait,” he promised softly. “I’ll challenge you to a match and knock you flat...”

 

Louis strangely looked forward to the idea of sparring in the boxing ring.

 

“Whatever, Sunflower.” He smirked.

 

Eddie offered him some of their shared bowl of dessert. Louis rolled his eyes and ate it.

 

//

Eddie had insisted on bringing more ice cream home with him; packaged in one of the shops’ insulated tubs.

Louis couldn’t help teasing him about it as they ducked into the Sedan.

 

“You’re basically eating yourself,” he mocked.

 

Eddie slid him a smug smile.

 

“You taste the same,” he assured.

 

Louis scoffed. “I do not!”

 

Eddie started the car and deposited his box on Louis' lap.

 

“Have you ever tasted your own come, Will?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes. 

 

“Well _yeah._ But it’s been a while,” he added more quietly in a mumble.

 

Eddie glanced over at him, one hand on the steering wheel while the other curved around his thigh, thumb roaming his skin with a slow, deliberate stroke.

 

“Want to taste you,” Eddie confessed in a deep voice.

 

Louis watched his hand settle there on his body comfortably and tried to remember all the reasons why he couldn’t let Eddie suck him off. If he had reasons before, they weren’t drifting to the forefront of his mind _now_. The only thing he could think about was how quickly the blood was rushing towards Eddie's touch, his body reacting to that big warm hand already even though it wasn’t—

 

He knocked his head back and took a breath.

 

_Fuck._

Eddie’s palm had just engulfed his dick, his fingertips dragging gently down over his balls.

 

“Going to let me taste you, kitten?”

 

Louis huffed out a weak denial.

 

“Got the ice cream if you want something in your mouth,” he challenged.

 

Louis didn’t anticipate Eddie's sudden diversion, the car veering to the side of the road and pulling up sharply enough to lock his seatbelt.

 

He turned in his seat to gloat and maybe argue some more but he wasn't prepared. Eddie released his belt and knelt up on the seat, leaning over to grab the box.

 

“Gonna eat this,” he promised darkly; suave hair flopping forward in wild curls. “Then I’m getting my mouth on _you_ , okay?”

 

Louis gaped, Eddie’s swift fingers popping his own belt free and then he leaned down, clasping his ankles to lift them up towards his body.

 

“You’re so fucking _sassy_ ,” Eddie was muttering lowly to himself.

 

“Wait- you can't...”

 

Eddie _did._ He hauled Louis' body gently towards him; over the console so that he could kneel between his thighs, lower lip bitten in concentration.

 

“Get your shirt off,” Eddie told him while he peeled the lid off the box.

 

Louis frowned; hands fidgeting in wanting to comply to that demand but his pride denying his body the chance. He folded his arms over his chest defiantly.

 

“You want it off, you take it off,” he demanded.

 

“Fine,” Eddie carefully laid the box on the dashboard and lifted his brow.

 

Louis was expecting to fight with him, was sure he could resist his strength. But Eddie didn’t fight fair exactly. He should have expected underhand tactics.

 

Eddie’s eyes met his with a superior glint as he merely peeled up Louis’ shirt from the hem, exposing his toned belly. He wriggled his hips, but his thighs were split around Eddie’s body, so he didn’t have the room to really slip away like he might have in bed or on the floor.

 

Eddie was _fast_ too. He reached for the box and tilted it; the melted mixture of ice-creams splattering on Louis' belly. He sucked in a breath at the coldness; his belly button pooling the creamy liquid and his nipples hardening in petty sympathy to the cold.

 

Eddie's tongue was lashing into his belly button before he could engage his brain to move his body. His arms rose with a weak stutter; not entirely committed to pulling him off and then his body hardened in an instant as Eddie licked over his happy trail with a big wet tongue.

 

His hand happened to fall among Eddie's curls; fingers curling into the soft mass as his back arched into his licking pleasure and it was all he could do not to just open his eyes and beg him for it. For what Eddie wanted to give him. He couldn’t let that happen, not yet, not while Eddie didn’t know who he really was.

 

“Oh, what's this,” Eddie asked breathily, gaze fixed to the hard nubs evident under Louis' shirt.

 

“N-nothing,” Louis gulped, pressing his palms over his nipples.

 

Eddie chuckled out his amusement, pushing between Louis' thighs to reach. The console was digging into Louis' lower back, but he was too hard to care about it.

 

The shirt Louis was wearing was lovingly unbuttoned and pushed aside, Eddie’s concentrated gaze avidly centred as he carefully grasped some semi- solid ice-cream from the container and smeared it over Louis’ chest with a lick of his lips.

 

“That's cold!” Louis complained to stop himself coming, pressing against the painfully hard ridge of his dick in his shorts.

 

Eddie's tongue lapped thickly across his ribs to chase a trickle of melted dessert, the sensation causing Louis to tremor gently.

 

“Hm,” Eddie hummed smugly, kissing his way across Louis' torso towards his sternum where most of the cold cream rested. “Getting hot yet?”

 

“Fuck,” Louis whispered, touching himself and searching for an anchor with his other hand; the choice being the seat or Eddie's hair and the other man moaned deeply when Louis gripped his curls.

 

His tongue teased underneath the peaked tip of his nipple, swollen lips kissing his skin and then smiling languidly as he adjusted himself between his thighs.

 

“I think you like me more than you let on,” he smirked.

 

Louis let the hand in his hair slip down, onto Eddie's stubbled jaw as he shifted; their eyes meeting in a heated exchange.  Louis wanted to kiss his mouth. Wanted to forget about ice cream and arguing and the practicality of fucking in a car. The way Eddie’s eyes dipped to his mouth and flicked back to his, darker this time; almost wanton, had Louis believing Eddie wanted the same.

 

The way Eddie’s lips flicked up in the corner though, the tiniest tug that shadowed his dimple, told Louis that he wasn’t giving up until he got what he wanted. And Eddie wanted to taste him. And why was that so fucking hot?

 

When Eddie’s tongue finally curled around his nipple; Louis cried out, loud and sharp. “Oh,” Eddie murmured, pleased. “You really _do_ like it...”

 

“Stop,” Louis begged, wrist captured by Eddie’s fingers and tugged away from where he was palming himself, pressed against the glove box while Eddie used his free hand to slide a thumb over the nipple he just licked, mouth going in for the other side to finish him off.

 

“Please,” Louis begged weakly, their roles reversed as Eddie slid his hard dick up against the inside of his thigh, two layers of clothes between them but his mouth in deliciously direct contact, teeth grazing the sensitive skin among broad lashes of his rough tongue.

 

He cried out again as Eddie blew cool air against his wet skin; puckering it tighter in pleasured response.

Eddie huffed against his ribs.

 

“I scream, you scream, we all scream...”

 

Louis cupped the back of his neck and let his fingertips push into the soft hair twisting there; his body taut and humming for release. Had he had more cohesion he would have lamented that joke and had Eddie begging _him_ for more. He wasn’t even sure how he was still alive let alone anything else.

 

Eddie seemed to take pity on him as he whimpered in desperation; long fingers deftly unbuttoning his shorts and sliding the zipper down to touch him. Louis choked as his dick was freed, pulsing hotly in Eddie's palm. He forced his eyes open to watch, hands shifting to cup his face again.

 

“On my tongue,” Eddie stated very seriously, pressing a quick kiss to Louis' mouth before he awkwardly folded his body up to fit in the seat enough to slide Louis into his mouth.

 

Louis didn’t have any control left. He came with a loud, sharp cry and a soft, weak shimmer, his release pumping thickly onto Eddie's tongue.

 

Eddie was on him weighing him down, tongue pushing into his mouth in a sloppy hot kiss as Louis tasted himself back, the sour flavour overwhelmed by the taste of Eddie, dark and bitter yet sweet. So incredibly sweet.

 

Eddie rutted against him, gasping as he came; arms circling Louis to draw him close almost tenderly; huffed breaths panted into his ear. The move brought Louis’ body away from the console digging uncomfortably into his back and he settled with circling his own arms around Eddie’s shoulders; fingers digging into his hair.

When Eddie lifted his head, Louis expected to see sleepy satedness there, a mocking victory of bringing Louis to orgasm. Eddie’s eyes were dark and he didn’t look to be done.

 

“Want my fingers inside you,” he stated in a slow, thick voice.

 

Louis blinked; tummy jumping. _What?_ There was no way that was happening. _No way._

“I'm fucking all sticky now because of your fucking obsession with tasting things and now you--"

 

Eddie kissed him. It was slow; caught up in the heady pleasure they’d just reached; bodies still acclimatising to functioning without pleasure. Eddie apparently wasn’t willing to give that up.

 

“Stop arguing,” Eddie mumbled against his lips; body writhing. “We both know you’re going to give in...”

 

 _Fuck._ Eddie had worked it out. He’d worked _him_ out. He wasn’t going to pretend anymore; he wasn’t going to back away with a knowing smile and a patient nod and just wait for Louis to come to him when he was ready. The man was worshipped in his field for a reason. He was a veritable God of seduction. And Louis...Louis wanted to be in charge, but they had time, yet.

 

They had time and—

 

He eyed Eddie's hands as he rhythmically slid off his rings one at a time, tucking them into the front pocket of Louis' shorts. And when had he--?

 

Louis swallowed, realising Eddie had shifted back onto his knees and stripped Louis' shorts and briefs while he'd been pondering the idea of rebelling Eddie’s suggestion to finger him.

 

As if he ever had a realistic chance of his body joining his mind in that protest. He rolled his eyes with a huff.

 

“Still sassy I see...” Eddie murmured, voice ruined by sex as he reached for the glove compartment.

 

“Learnt it from you,” Louis retorted, noticing the ice cream container upturned in the footwell and righting it.

 

Eddie shuffled forward and gripped Louis' calves to settle him where he wanted him, in his lap. The lube was squirted suggestively along Eddie's long pointer finger, his brow arched and tongue poking out teasingly.

 

“Start with one, mmm?”

 

“Fucking better start with one, it’s not like I-"

 

Louis shut his mouth. Eddie's finger slid up his crack and settled, knuckles nudged against his cheeks and fingertip circling his rim.

 

“Gonna shush now, kitten?” Eddie asked.

 

“Why are you still dressed?” Louis whispered, twisting his hips.

 

Eddie chuckled and teased his finger inside slightly.

 

“Just to piss you off, love,” he murmured.

 

“Fucking... “ Louis tapered off as Eddie added more slick and slipped deeper inside. “Yeah,” he swallowed, adjusting his hips a bit. “Yeah, okay.”

 

“Mmm,” Eddie agreed throatily, eyes drawing up Louis' body from his gently resurging dick to his bobbing throat.

 

Louis closed his eyes to his dark look.

 

“Don’t get any ideas, Angel."

 

“What possible ideas might they be?” Eddie leaned in to slide his finger right in, Louis clasping at it sweetly.

 

“There’re so many possibilities, “ he breathed.

 

Louis tilted his head to kiss him, fingers gliding back through his hair to angle Eddie’s face into the kiss so that their tongues could curl together just _so._ Kissing him was as hot as touching him and Louis wanted to touch him. His fingers found the metal clasps on the straps of the dungarees and released them, dragging the denim down to splay his hands on Eddie’s vested torso.

 

When Eddie started to fuck him with one finger he tugged up his vest to get his bare hands on him; fingertips digging into his lithe body. Eddie slipped his finger out, eyes steady on Louis' as he kissed him softly.

 

“Two?” He asked and Louis nodded, watching him re-slick his fingers; pressing gently at his rim. Eddie twisted both inside, curling and wriggling until Louis gave in with a breathy cry; thighs quivering with the intensity of that touch.

 

“Fuck, you’re so hot,” Eddie breathed. “Fucking hot sassy kitten.”

 

“Thought I was a devil,” Louis began to shift his hips to fuck himself on Eddie’s digits.

 

Eddie smiled into his face, letting out a huff of amusement as he split his fingers inside him.

 

“Not right now you’re not.”

 

Louis swallowed. He couldn’t _exactly_ argue his point artfully when he was pushing back to get more of Eddie's fingers inside him. It wasn’t the _best_ position to barter his argument.

 

Eddie kissed him again when he nudged in three. It hurt a little. Louis hadn’t taken fingers for too long and he was tightly strung anyway. His muscles quivered weakly at the stretch; fighting Eddie for dominance.

 

Louis closed his eyes and flushed darkly as he realised his body was rejecting a pleasure he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in too long. Because he hadn’t trusted anyone to touch him.

Not everyone got it right. If he felt like it, he'd finger himself, but Eddie was actually good at it. It wasn't that Louis didn’t _like_ it. It was that there was so much more to overcome than the objection of his body.

 

“Want to make you purr,” Eddie murmured against his ear earning a huff of laughter among the discomfited twist of his hips. “Kitten, you look so pretty,” he praised. “Getting hard for me again, hmm?”

 

Louis grasped Eddie’s shoulders and lifted his hips, gently pushing back on three fingers with a hitched breath. His dick was semi-rigid, Eddie’s thumb circling his nipple to ease him on.

The truth was that Louis wanted _more_. He maybe wanted the thickness of Eddie’s gigantic dick stretching his rim and easing into him with the same slow intensity.

 

The heat of their fight was easily switched between anger and passion and Louis wanted to bite; wanted to shout about how fucking outrageous it was that Eddie had turned him into this wanton mess but part of him liked the surrender. He liked forgetting his responsibility and his propriety just for the sake of fucking himself like he was now; hot and desperate for more.

 

“Eddie...” It came out weaker than he intended; gasped and urgent.

 

“Yeah,” Eddie swallowed; slipping his fingers out. “Need to get you on a bed,” He decided.

 

Louis blinked, clenching around nothing.

 

“What?”

 

Eddie shifted, twisting in his seat to start the engine.

 

“Home,” he said, rough voiced. “Taking you home...”

 

Louis pulled his feet in towards his body, searching for his clothes to cover himself up. Eddie reached into the back of the car and tossed him a blanket. Louis tried to ignore the fierce throbbing of his ass, now empty of Eddie’s fingers.

 

It took too long. By the time they pulled up outside the beach house, Louis was ready to climb into Eddie's lap and fuck himself.

 

Wrapped in a blanket and clutching his clothes, sticky with the residue of ice cream and hovering around the edge of arousal, a surge of defiance overcame Louis as they stepped inside the pristine house.

 

He tossed his clothes in the hall and pressed Eddie against the wall with an owning kiss.

 

“Fucking tease,” he accused as Eddie whimpered and wrapped arms around him to draw him into his body.

 

Eddie was hard again; the dungarees were resting haphazardly at his waist, his vest quickly strewn in favour of wanting Louis’ hands against his skin. Louis made sure to suck a biting mark into his chest in petty rebellion.

 

“Fuck, you're naughty,” Eddie twisted to plant Louis against the wall. “You know Ben doesn’t like marks...”

 

Louis smirked and surged forward; bumping Eddie against the side-table roughly. He evidently wanted _more._ Louis pushed him back and dipped his head to suck a pretty one right across his hip where his tattoo sprawled artfully.

 

He was just surveying it with a victorious smile when Eddie grasped the blanket and ripped it away from Louis’ body; leaving him naked in the hallway.

 

“Get up the stairs,” Eddie panted.

 

Louis squeezed Eddie’s waist with his gentle hands.

 

“ _You_ get up the stairs...”

 

Eddie pushed forward off the table, not resisted by Louis in his advance. He almost wanted to see if Eddie would throw him over his shoulder and toss him on his bed. _Fuck._ Just the thought of it made him hard. He fought the feeling of submission, grabbing Eddie in another hot kiss; his back thumping against the wall at the side of the stairs; his hands grabbing at the dungarees to drag them off.

 

Eddie stumbled on the steps; crashing Louis down with him to the carpet and it was awkward and uncomfortable but it was so fucking hot. Eddie’s thighs alternated his as they both clenched for friction; his long body fitting Louis' small one perfectly as they scrabbled for dominance, both groaning when they were overpowered.

 

Eventually Eddie’s size gave him the upper hand and he wrapped his arms around Louis as he climbed over his back to press him into the stairs roughly.

 

“I’m gonna fuck you one stair at a time,” Eddie’s deep, throaty voice promised darkly.

 

The sound of it was welcome after gasped, frantic noises but Louis couldn’t help the way his chest hitched at his statement.

 

“How-" He panted as Eddie ground against him, hard heat still encased by his briefs. “How many are there?”

 

Eddie smirked against his cheek, thumb dragging his briefs off in messy urgency.

 

“That’s for my dick to know and your ass to find out.”

 

 _Fuck_.

 

Louis could barely lift his chin; pushed into the carpet and held in place. He weakly tried to crawl to his knees, to settle his hands on the step above while Eddie shifted to search for the lube he’d stuffed in his dungaree pocket from the car.

 

Eddie's fingers were there; tucking into him as he tried to count how many steps towered above them.

 

“Stop cheating,” Eddie kissed the back of his neck, running his hand gently over the back of his thigh and digging his thumb into the thick muscle.

Louis swallowed and dug his elbows into the step above his body; Eddie's heavy breath and hot body arching over him.

 

“You good?” Eddie asked, fingertips breaching a sensitive spot that Louis shivered at.

 

“Good,” he affirmed.

 

“You do realise this means I won,” Eddie whispered; sliding his length between Louis’ ass cheeks teasingly.

 

“Never gonna happen,” Louis promised equally breathy as he waited for Eddie to move.

 

The faint sound of a condom being unwrapped was in the periphery of Louis' hearing. He didn’t have much time to consider where the protection had come from before Eddie was breaching him; bearing down with hot puffs of air against his neck; the tantalising brush of his sweat-damp hair skittering over his shoulders as Eddie pressed his cheek against his skin before he flicked his hips and pushed inside.

 

It was sweeter than Louis remembered. It was hot enough to burn. But _fuck_ it felt good. It felt so _good_.

 

“Easy,” Eddie's hand stroked his belly as Louis tensed up, chin dipping to his chest. He wanted to be Eddie’s best. He wanted Eddie to forget about every other guy he’d fucked and only remember that moment. The moment he fucked into Louis’ body and stayed there; tight and pulsing and real.

 

“I’m good,” Louis promised. He was going to be the best fuck Eddie ever had if it was the last thing he did.

 

Eddie kissed over his shoulders as Louis dipped his spine; sensitive fingers trailing the curve of his back and rounding his ass cheek to give it the lightest playful slap.

 

“Told you to take it easy,” Eddie rumbled as Louis clenched embarrassingly around him, muscles seizing and fluttering against the width of his dick.

 

Eddie’s hand began to stroke him, over his chest and tummy, tightening around his dick and brushing over his thighs with firm ownership.

 

“Lift your knee onto the next step,” he murmured.

 

Louis swallowed.

 

“You were joking about--"

 

Eddie gripped his ankle and lifted his leg for him; fucking in as Louis' knee settled on the step above.

 

_Holy fuck._

“Mmm,” Eddie shifted to follow him up; settling them both before he flicked his hips again; harder this time and yet still not fully sheathed.

 

“Eddie,” Louis begged, not sure his tiny body could take him, take all ten gloriously thick and hard inches of him when he was so under-prepared for it.

 

“Won’t hurt you...I promise.”

 

Louis let out a breath and tried to crawl up the next step himself. Eddie was out of sync and his knees slipped against the carpet, the friction burning his skin with a hiss. Eddie fucked in harder still; barely moving out as Louis panted against the pleasure.

 

“Gonna argue with me again?” Eddie whispered.

 

“Every day,” Louis promised, refusing to submit. He could remember the times when he _hadn’t_ argued with Eddie; when they looked after the baby and when Eddie had become compliant beneath him. He loved those moments too, but there was something about the hot hard clash of wills that had Louis wanting more.

 

“Count with me,” Eddie shuffled them up to the next step. “Three,” he pushed Louis down slightly, double thrusting.

 

“Four,” Louis began to strive for the pinnacle; Eddie's heat sinking deeper and deeper and restricting his ability to crawl.

 

“Five,” Eddie lifted him slightly; hand wrapping around his dick and fingers teasing his happy trail.

 

“Six,” Louis breathed as Eddie growled and sank right in; laying against his back and just breathing heavy and tight.

 

Louis felt his moan vibrate through him; clenched the step for anchorship when he felt like he was capsizing.

 

“Fuck,” he cast as he looked through his sweaty fringe to see more steps above him.

 

“Yeah, finally,” Eddie agreed softly. “You good?”

 

Louis had been good for at least the last hour, maybe longer; he couldn’t quite define it. But he wasn’t sure he’d make it to the top if he was honest.

 

“Too good,” he muttered, coaxing Eddie’s fingers away from his dick.

 

“Oh,” Eddie smiled against his cheek as he crowded close; circling his hips to grind in.

 

“Yeah, oh,” Louis crawled up two steps in succession, Eddie leaning back slightly so that Louis could sit back and fuck himself; something he did with a soulful sigh and a happy smile.

 

“I’m still winning,” Eddie told him as they reached the top; Louis' torso laid on the landing while Eddie pressed into him again; using his weight to pin him down. “C'mon then, kitten,” Eddie murmured, sliding a hand around him once more.

 

Louis pushed his chest into the carpet; rough fabric burning his skin and tugging his nipples as he pushed his ass backwards; body shunted with each thrust from Eddie’s hips. Eddie was right; he felt amazing. He knew exactly how to use his size to his advantage and Louis could freely admit he was weak.

 

Eddie's stuttered cries and gasps preceded the jerk of his body as he came; stroking Louis off to a similar peak and they stayed there collapsed against the top step until air circulated their lungs enough to power them to shift.

 

“Fuck,” Eddie announced in a gravelled voice as he carefully eased out.

 

Louis twisted on the carpet to arch a brow.

 

“Damn right.”

 

//

 

They slept in a spooning cuddle; Eddie latched to Louis' back until the sun rising nudged them gently from sleep; the curtains undrawn on the ceiling-to-floor windows that gave Eddie a panoramic view of the beach from his bed.

 

Louis turned over to kiss him as they slowly woke up; arms drawing each other in for an intimate, naked cuddle that awakened too many senses for it to be ignored.

 

Louis' eyes slipped to the nightstand where he reached for a glass of water; the black case of Eddie’s camera brushing his fingers. He handed the glass to Eddie and picked up the camera.

 

“What're the pictures of, Eddie?” He murmured.

 

Eddie swallowed, easing the device from Louis' fingers and laying it back on the stand with his drink.

 

“It’s a long story,” he murmured, green eyes wide with an innocence that Louis didn’t know he could possess.

 

“Just—tell me they're not...You know,” he breathed. “Sexual.”

 

Eddie stared at him, reaching to open the top drawer of the bedside cupboard; his naked body twisting to hook out a packet of printed pictures.

 

“Here,” he pointed the wallet at Louis.

 

Louis looked at the packet and back into Eddie's eyes; knowing the truth in his heart without looking at the pictures. He didn’t need to see them to know they weren’t sordid.

 

He leaned in to slip the pack from Eddie’s fingers and tossed it to the floor; pressing him into the bed as he slanted their lips together in another long kiss.

 

“Ride me,” he begged as Eddie kissed him back and it was breathy and half mumbled against his mouth.

 

“Fuck,” Eddie whimpered, blinking up at Louis as he kneed between his thighs and reached for the lube.

 

It felt like a blur; twisted fingers wrapped in tight heat; tongue flicking to heighten Eddie's arousal, loudening his breathy cries.

 

Eddie was straddling his hips and easing back on him before either of them truly knew what was happening; breaths let out in slow unison as they joined.

 

“Love your dick,” Eddie's lips tugged up in a sex-tired smirk.

 

Louis rested his hand on Eddie’s chest; cupping his waist as he rolled his hips to ease inside him and Eddie only pushed down to take more.

 

“Eddie,” he breathed, face creasing with guilt. _I_ _have so much to tell you. So many lies to admit. Will you still love my dick then? Could you ever love **me**?_

Louis wanted to confess everything, right then. He wanted to tell Eddie how he secretly hoped they could be together for real; after the investigation was over, after the hearing was finalised.

 

“H-Harry;” Eddie gasped, hips rising. “My name is,” he swallowed a moan and bucked his hips once more. “My name is H--"

 

The sudden, loud clunk of heavy footfall on varnished wooden floors echoed through the lower half of the house; Louis' gaze shooting to Eddie as his hands stilled him in his lap.

 

“What the f--"

 

“Freeze!” The bedroom door was flung open; kicked by a solid foot and followed up with a surge of armed officers; all directing their guns toward the occupants in the bed.

 

“For fuck's sake!” Louis hissed; Eddie tumbling to the mattress as Louis dragged the sheets up the bed in petty modesty.

 

“Hands up!” the leading FBI Officer barked; and Louis knew better than to argue; glancing over towards Eddie who had settled back on his haunches; skin paling in sudden fear.

 

“Eddie Twist, you are under arrest and we have a warrant to search the property,” the Officer rushed to say as he reached for cuffs; another officer pulling Louis off the bed as Eddie was read his rights.

 

“Hey!” Eddie called, aggrieved until he too was dragged to his feet to be cuffed.

 

“Can I at least put some fucking clothes on?” Louis complained, knowing his things were abandoned in the hall amongst the hazy urgency of their lust.

 

Which— _Fuck_. Louis had to know. He had to—

 

“What's he actually under arrest for?” He beseeched, grabbing a dressing gown to belt around himself before offering his hands for cuffing. He would have to go to the station and play along for now; he couldn’t break his cover.

 

“Sexual intercourse with a minor,” The Officer manhandled him across the bedroom towards the door.

 

Louis’ heart stopped clean in his chest. His eyes sought out those that he had trusted; that he had looked into only minutes ago while they—

 

_Oh god._

While they _fucked_.

 

And Eddie was—Eddie liked...

 

Louis blinked as Eddie twisted in the grip of his guardian; face pale and eyes wide.

 

“It’s not true!” He begged, gasping for a breath. “Fuck, Will, I swear! They’ve got the wrong guy!”

 

Louis felt his lungs collapse into his chest; his heart crashing hard after and he dug his heels into the wood floor to fight his capture. Eddie was everything the press had accused him of being, everything the Bureau suspected him to be. He was as perverted and sick and— _Louis was fucking in love with him._

Or was he?

 

Because he couldn’t possibly have fallen for someone so depraved. He’d made some mistakes in his life, but this was surely his most epic yet. _Holy shit_.

 

The photos. The photos on the floor. What had they depicted? What was Eddie really trying to show him, his sick truth? And Louis had shunned it, wanting to only see the version of the man he thought he knew.

 

 _My name is Harry_.

 

Fuck fuck fuck, what did it all mean?

 

Louis let himself be shoved into the drive barefoot; the flashing car lights only now visible as the Officers returned to their vehicles with him and Eddie in tow.

 

“Will!” Eddie yelled his name; pushing against the Officer wrangling him into another car. “Will, please! Look at me! You know it’s not true! You know-“

 

“Get in the car,” The Officer shunted him hard so that Eddie fell; swearing under his breath and for a second Louis felt an inexplicable protectiveness rear in his chest. He wanted to shove the Officer back and maybe give him a swift kick but what was the use?

 

Louis would only be protecting a man who had betrayed him. He swallowed the lump in his throat which told him to give Eddie a chance _. A chance to what? Lie his way out of it?_ Because Louis had seen it with his own eyes. Had seen him stalking schools and taking photographs and it obviously added up. The trust he had felt with him all along was evidently a fluke. His gut feeling was losing its touch.

 

He ducked into the cop car he was pushed towards and dipped his chin to his chest; bound hands settling in his lap.

 

Fuck Eddie. He would get his soon enough, Louis mused. Every report he had written he would ensure was used to prosecute him for every charge he was up against.

 

His body might take longer to convince; still throbbing, still buzzing with the aftermath of their unfinished sex. Their unfinished _love-making_ if Eddie's revelation was to be counted.

Louis scoffed to himself.  Nothing counted anymore. None of the dimpled smiles, none of the abandoned cries, none of the sweet, soft words and cuddles. It was all going to hell, where Eddie belonged.

 

The car door opened on the other side of the passenger seat, a familiar smile on the face of the Officer leaning into the space.

 

“Oi oi, Tommo,” Niall greeted.  “You did it, bud. You really did it! Got him right where we want him- in jail. James is fucking popping champagne, I swear,” he babbled. “We’re gonna be up for that promo I can feel it...”

 

Louis stared at him, keeping quiet. He knew better than to react too quickly, his head still catching up with the reality of it all.

 

“Wanna watch that scum get carted away?” Niall asked and Louis shook his head, swallowing and focusing back on his thighs.

 

He didn’t want to see anything. Least of all Eddie’s smug face.

 

If he had looked, he would have seen Eddie's panicked face. His achingly vulnerable, confused and hurt-looking face. But Louis _hadn’t_ looked. So, he hadn’t seen any of that. Instead he took a deep breath as Niall climbed inside the backseat of the car to unlock his cuffs.

 

“You don’t have to fake it anymore,” he murmured. “You don’t have to pretend to like that asshole. The hearing has been cancelled because we’ve got everything we need, now.”

 

And Louis felt sick, felt the feeling emanate his whole body because he hadn’t been faking it. Not really. Not completely. And he felt like such a gigantic fool for letting down his guard for a guy who quickly reminded him why he had a guard up in the first place.

 

“Take me to the station,” he demanded.

 

“Lou, it’s over,” Niall emphasised. “You’re done with him! We’ll tell him some bullshit about how you got deported back to Canada and--"

 

“I _said_ , take me to the station,” Louis repeated, dark eyes boring into Niall's. Niall swallowed.

 

“Why do you wanna do that, Tommo?”

 

“I want to talk to him.” Louis shared brittlely with a loaded shrug. “Just give me five minutes in the room with him...”

 

“Lou, are you sure that's a good idea?” Niall questioned carefully.  “You’re going to blow your cover.”

 

“Take me to the interrogation room,” he insisted. “I’m not done with that bastard yet...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo
> 
> I'll be here, hiding from projectiles and hate comments ;)
> 
> Ang


	10. Chapter 10

Eddie eyed the plate of doughnuts in the centre of the table, the mirrored questioning room cold and metallic.

 

He'd been given an orange jumpsuit to slip on since he’d only managed to yank on a pair of shorts before he’d been dragged from the beach house.

 

Which. Fuck. _Will_. Where was he? Had they released him by now?

 

He reached for a sugared ring doughnut and slouched in the seat with a huff; eyes peering towards the door as it tentatively opened.

 

A brunette Officer poked his shoulder and head into the room.

 

“Er.  Hi. How you doing?” He asked in an Irish accent that Eddie liked.

 

“Hi...um, who are you?” Eddie asked, warily.

 

He'd been told he was being detained indefinitely, that his interview would start when they were ready, but he was losing his patience; twisting his fingers around his wrists where the cuffs began to dig in.

 

“I’m FBI Agent Horan,” the man stepped into the room fully with a nervous swallow and Eddie looked up at him hopefully, licking the sugar off his lips.

 

“Do you know where Will is? Did they let him go yet? I keep asking but nobody seems to fucking know anything around here...”

 

“Eh...I know where he is,” Niall smiled wanly and Eddie sat up keenly, about to ask more questions when the door latch went again and another, shorter uniformed Officer strode into the room.

 

Only it wasn't an Officer. It was Will. And Eddie didn’t think he had felt such a rush of relief before in his life.

 

“Will, there you are! Fuck, what happened? Did they run out of overalls?” Eddie shifted in his chair to get up. His eyes drifted over Will as a hopeful smile warmed his tired features. “Or were they too big for you, kitten?”

 

Eddie noticed the way Officer Horan glanced at Will confusedly.

 

“You can address me as Detective Tomlinson,” Will replied coolly. “I’m a Special Agent of the FBI.”

 

Eddie huffed out an incredulous breath of amusement, lips twisting as he stepped forward familiarly. The only person who he trusted, maybe even _loved_ was standing in front of him and he was okay. He hadn’t been beaten or harmed if Eddie’s quick once-over was accurate.

 

“Very funny,” he mused.  “You really had me going there! You gonna strip out of that uniform for me, Buttercup?” He winked, heart thudding in excitement.

 

“I suggest you sit down, Mr. Twist,” Will informed him. “Or do I call you Mr. Styles now?”

 

Eddie's heart began to beat harder in an erratic pattern, the hairs on his arms prickling as they stood on end.

 

“Th-this is a joke, right? Part of a joke that you--you're Will Darling,” he beseeched, eyes flicking to Officer Horan. “He's--"

 

Officer Horan pushed himself away from the wall with a sigh.

 

“You best sit down, Harry. We know who you really are.” Horan said.

 

“But-" Eddie stared at Will’s face, earning the cool, half lidded gaze of the man he thought he knew. The stark thud of his metal badge encased in a leather pouch hit the table, causing him to jump.

 

The badge had a name printed on it. **Louis William Tomlinson**. He frowned with a thick swallow. _Will_?

 

“I don’t-" Fuck. _What was going on?_ “I don’t under-"

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Louis told him harshly and Eddie stared at him, startled. “I haven’t even started yet...”

 

 

//

 

“Seems like there’s quite a lot you don’t understand,” Louis rounded the table to stand right in front of Harry, pressing a hand to his chest to back him up and Harry scuttled backwards, feet tangling around his ankle chains causing him to fall into his seat. “Have another doughnut,” he added with a wan smile.

 

“No, I'm- I’m ok,” he watched Louis with a wary glance that Louis deliberately ignored.

 

“You’re just a jumped up, arrogant little dick aren’t you, _Harry_ ,” Louis sneered his name on purpose. _The name Harry had told him to use when they'd_ —“Speaking of which, you seem to think with your dick most of the time, it seems...”

 

Harry glared at him, twisting in his seat as Louis moved to pace behind his chair.

 

“It’s not what you think,” he murmured. “Are you even officially questioning me?” He added. “Is that your real name?” He pointed to the badge on the table. “Louis?”

 

“That's Detective Tomlinson to you, scumbag...”

 

“I don’t have to answer to you,” Harry snarled, wild eyes darting about as Louis marched around the room with a cold laugh.

 

“I’m an undercover agent, Mr. Styles. I was sent in to fulfil a brief and all of this was just a cover,” he gestured to the glasses he pulled from his front pocket and placed on the table. “I have the relevant authority to question you and when I ask a question I expect you to answer it! So, tell me something, _Styles_...How long have you been involved in your father's criminal activity? Was it before or after you became King Dong?”

 

Harry swung his face away with a bitter twist of a smile, an unhumoured laugh leaving his throat.

 

“Well you’ve already fucking planned it out haven’t you, Louis? You’ve got it all in your head already so why the fuck do you need me to tell you anything?” Harry challenged.

 

“Because those kids deserve justice, you sick bastard. And I’m fucking here to get it!”

 

“Louis,” Niall called him softly from the corner of the room where he fidgeted awkwardly. “We should go now...”

 

“Not until he fucking spills!” Louis yelled, turning to glare at Harry. _Eddie_. Fuck. “Spit it out, Styles!”

 

Harry’s head lifted, chin jutting with a determined jerk but Louis couldn't miss the broken hurt reflected in his eyes. He didn’t miss the pooling tears or the bitter press of Harry’s lips as he shook his head, silently accusing him.

_I trusted you._

 “I want—I want a--"

 

Louis hardened his resolve. 

 

“We don’t always get what we want, lover boy,” Louis hissed, swiping his badge and glasses off the table. “Just fucking tell me!”

 

Harry’s eyes darkened, his wet lashes spiking with his unshed tears as he bared his teeth.

 

“Fuck you!” He spat.

 

Louis recoiled, eyes flicking away from the accusing glare Harry was aiming at him. He wasn’t the one in the wrong here. He was the good guy.

 

“Yeah,” Louis huffed, licking his lips. “You did fuck me. I did what I had to do to bring you in, but you know...you’re not as good as you think you are, _King Dong_. In fact, I'd say you’re pretty average, but you know what, based on the evidence we have you’ll be getting plenty of time to practice with that right hand of yours...”

 

Harry shuffled his feet and muttered, “Left actually" under his breath and Louis launched towards the table, fisted hand slamming down on its surface fast and loud.

 

“Your Dad was right by the way, that’s all you’re good for...your dick! And you’re not even good at that!”

 

“Tommo that’s enough!” Niall strode forward to grab him by the arms, pulling  him out of Harry's space. “Fuck, you're gonna get us fired,” he murmured. “We're done here,” he added as he pushed Louis toward the hall.

 

“Yeah,” Louis twisted to look right into Harry’s eyes as he swallowed bitterly. “We're fucking done.”

 

Niall shoved him through the door, turning back to find Harry sniffling; tears tracking down his face un-touched.

 

“I w-want a l-lawyer,” he stammered.

 

Niall nodded, looking up into the top corner of the glass.

 

“Get him a fucking lawyer!” He bellowed.

 

 

//

 

 

“Here's your things...” Niall dropped a clear bag filled with Louis' clothes on the office sofa where Louis sat, staring at the TV screen which showed the security camera view of Harry’s interview room.

 

When he didn’t respond, Niall sat beside him.

 

“Why’re you doing this to yourself?”

 

“I don’t want to hear what he has to say,” Louis swallowed, carefully avoiding Niall's gaze. “I saw the way Sullivan was pushing him around. I just want to make sure it’s done by the book.”

 

“By the book?!” Niall scoffed. “Lou, he could get us both discharged for what you did in there!”

 

“That’s different!” Louis turned to blaze him with his eyes.

 

“How?!” Niall flapped his arms to emphasise his emotion.

 

“Because we—I...” He swallowed. “Fuck,” he whispered, regret creeping up on him in nauseating waves.

 

“Lou...you – you didn’t just fuck him did you? You didn’t hate the guy at all...”

 

Louis looked quickly away from his friend's probing eyes, blinking away the hurt tears that threatened to fall.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, voice strained.

 

Niall sagged, the wind leaving his sails from his earlier indignant words.

 

“You fucking fell for him didn’t you?”

 

Louis swallowed again, throat closing in. “Then why?” Niall begged. “Why did you go in there all guns blazing? He might be innocent, Lou. There’s still a chance that there’s a good reason for everything that's happened...”

 

Louis felt his heart twist in his chest and choked as his tears broke free; his sobs crashing painfully after.

 

Niall shuffled up to hug him; pulling him against his body with a soft “There, there".

 

“Fuck,” he hissed. “What have I done?”

 

“It’s not too late, Lou,” he soothed. “We can sort it out in the morning. Get yourself home and get a good kip. He’s not going anywhere tonight...”

 

Louis looked at him with a sniffle.

 

“You were right before. It’s done. I can’t go back,” He winced, getting up out of the seat and hashing away his tears with his fingers. “I’m going home. Call me if anything big happens.”

 

“Lou...”

 

“I’m taking a couple of days leave,” he ignored Niall's begging tone.  “I’ll be back Friday with my paperwork,” he promised.

 

“Louis, don’t do this,” Niall stood up. “You’re hurt, he’ll understand! You can fix this, I promise...”

 

Louis grabbed his bag of clothes and his briefcase and strode for the door with a backwards wave.

 

“Thanks, Neil. See you soon!”

 

Niall opened his mouth to call him back and it came out as a defeated sigh.

 

//

 

It was the most mundane of tasks that broke Louis.

 

Going through his washing, making sure it was all his (some of it wasn’t but he washed it anyway) and when he stuffed his shorts into the machine there was a clank which prompted him to pull them out.

 

Every word of his exchange with Harry haunted him.

 

_Was it before or after you became King Dong?_

_Your Dad was right by the way that’s all you’re good for- your dick!_

He shuddered, a heavy weight of hopelessness blanketing over him so that he felt suffocated.

 

He shouldn’t have said those things. He shouldn’t have yelled like that. Harry had told Kendra that he felt more loved when Louis didn’t yell at him.

 

But it wasn’t _Louis_ he was talking about. It was _Will_. A fictionary character.

 

Only.

 

Only actually Louis had been exactly himself apart from changing his name, so his fake reality had become much more than that.

 

And why **had** he instantly assumed Harry’s guilt?

 

Fuck.

 

He’d fallen so hard he didn’t know which way was up. The stark intervention of the raid had ripped his silly little daydream into irreplaceable pieces. He’d fucked Harry. Not just fucked him either. _Loved_ him.

 

He’d made the choice then and there that he wanted a future. And the thundering footsteps and very real accusations of the Bureau had torn it all away. It had tapped into his acute fear that he was being played. That Harry didn’t really like his average dick or his boring personality. That he’d pretended all along that Louis was a guy he liked enough to kiss.

 

The photographs still didn’t make any sense.

 

Fuck.

 

He had to see them. He had to go in and listen to the interview tape and review the evidence with his own eyes.

 

Which he should have done first. Before blasting into his interview room like some big-time Cop.

 

He dug into the pocket of his shorts and frowned at the cool, clinking noise of metal, cold realisation shooting through his heart.

 

A handful of decorative rings tumbled out, square ruby, rose petals, a turquoise bar.

 

 _Jesus Holy Christ_.

 

Eddie's rings. Fuck. _Harry's_ rings. Harry who had looked at him wounded and shaken and so, so afraid. And Louis had just—

 

He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut as the pain hit him hard. Harry would never want to see him again. He’d never tell him to be quiet or fuck off or call him _kitten_.

 

Louis sank to his knees, rings clutched in his hand against his chest.

 

Fuck it all to hell.

 

//

 

“Lou, I got some news for ya...” Niall announced as Louis sauntered into the work room on Friday.

 

“I just came in to drop off some of Harry’s belongings, “ he murmured, face strained.

 

Niall smirked.

 

“Okay I’ll get it to him,” he promised. “Oh, and Sullivan got moved to the Hanson case,” Niall added knowingly.

 

“Good. Um. Is everything okay with the uh...the Styles case?”

 

“Tell you what. If I beat you at ping pong you have to let me tell you the news...” He bargained.

 

Louis sighed. He could use the practice since Harry had beaten him so well in Nevada.

 

 _Nevada_.

 

Where they'd —

 

“Fine,” Louis rolled his eyes knowing he couldn’t avoid an update on his case either way.

 

 //

 

“So,” Niall began the game with a grin, his uniform shirt removed to leave him in his vest and trousers.

 

Louis had come into the office in a striped royal blue tracksuit and plimsolls; avoiding too much attention.

 

“You haven’t won yet,” Louis accused.

 

“As if you fucking care, Tommo,” Niall spat.

 

“Whatever,” Louis smacked the ball and lost a point.

 

“So, we got the pictures printed,” Niall began, hitting the ball again. Louis stuttered a bit to get into rhythm.

 

“And?”

 

“And it’s just a bunch of kids in the playground,” he shrugged. “So, we asked him--"

 

“Who did the interview?” Louis cut in, focusing on his return.

 

Niall smiled smugly.

 

“Smith and the Boss.”

 

Louis looked up, the ball bouncing right off the table by his elbow.

 

“What?”

 

“He didn’t even put in a complaint, Lou. But I made sure he'd get a fair run.”

 

“Okay,” Louis breathed, mind racing. _Why didn’t he complain?_ He should have fucking complained. He was irrationally unprofessional and- “What did he say?”

 

“Turns out he’s been looking for a kid. A kid who he’s related to, but he’s never got to meet...”

 

 Louis' head began to spin.

 

“Then why didn't he just say that?” Louis demanded, walking away to fetch the ball and restart the game. Niall shrugged.

 

“His story checks out. His step-dad had paperwork to back up leads that a Private Investigator had given them. Eddie- _Fuck_ , I mean _Harry_ , was just on the lookout. He worked out pretty fast that nobody would help him when he asked them outright because of who he is. So, he snuck around,” Niall explained. “He didn’t sleep with any girls, Lou. His Dad's been arrested, he was using Harry's name.”

 

 _What?_ Just— _what_? But that meant—

 

“Wait,” Louis looked up, eyes flaring. “You mean he got cleared? He’s been released?”

 

Niall hummed, serving the ball only to have it bounce over Louis' shoulder.

 

“But I've got his jewellery,” he beseeched. “I wanted to- I wanted to give it back...”

 

“Told ya, I can do it,” Niall assured. “We had to get his location for the next month in case anything else changes.”

 

“I take it he’s not staying in L.A. then,” Louis sighed.

 

Niall watched him for a minute.

 

“He’s not in L.A.” He confirmed.

 

Louis swallowed, wary eyes lifting from the table top as he span the handle of the bat in his palm.

 

“Where is he?”

 

“Said he was going training at a boxing ring so that he can beat the living shit out of you if he ever sees you again...”

 

Louis nodded, the words strangely numbing against the inflamed pain in his heart. Harry was innocent. He had proof of it. Not that he should have needed it because Louis had fucked him knowing his cocky facade couldn’t _all_ be an act.

 

And now he'd ruined the only fucking thing he would have left his job for. And still would.

 

“Can you set something up?” Louis whispered, peeking at his friend hopefully.

 

“What, getting the shit kicked out of ya? Think I can arrange that prettily easily, Tommo...”

 

“I mean with— _Harry_ ,” Louis said his name softly, an experiment spoken aloud. “Can you set up a meeting?”

 

Niall’s grin was slow but cunning.

 

“I could lie to him and tell him it’s me who wants to meet up.”

 

Louis felt something pinch in his chest.

 

“No more lies,” he breathed.

 

“Alright, I’ll tell him you’ve got his stuff...” He suggested. “Pretty sure he’ll want to knock you out to get it.”

 

Louis nodded, biting his lip. He knew what he needed to do.

 

//

 

Four days later Louis strolled into the Long Beach Gymnasium in Nevada.

 

Niall had finally shared Harry’s hideout location, so Louis felt a tiny sliver of hope that Harry didn’t hate him enough to refuse him a visit.

 

There was a back room with a boxing ring and he had all his stuff on him; his gloves hanging around his neck and his blue boots laced up over his ankles.

 

He’d gone with mid-length black shorts in a clingy jersey fabric and the sleeveless Bulls basketball vest that Harry had worn at their ping-pong match at the Spa which had somehow become entangled with Louis’ clothes that were handed back to him by Niall.  The gym was only around the corner from the hotel they stayed at together and Louis wondered why Harry had chosen that city of all places to hide out in.

 

Harry's rings were in a pouch tucked safely into his rucksack, easily retrieved if Harry decided not to humour him with a round of sparring. Louis secretly hoped he would, though.

 

Harry had the chance to tell him the truth more than once and he _hadn't_.  So, he could hardly call martyr in the honesty stakes.

 

Louis strode into the back hall with a borrowed confidence; an art he had learned on the job.  A quick survey of the room told him Harry was already hopping around the spring board with an opponent; the guy holding up hit-pads as Harry landed blows in quick succession, his hair tied up with a pink bandana that broke Louis' heart.

 

 _So, he didn’t keep the blue one then_. Probably burned it along with all the other stolen clothes.

 

He had on his tiny red shorts and he was topless; his skin sheened with sweat as he immediately paused and stared at Louis with a heavy, panting breath.

 

Louis tried not to picture the painting in Harry’s living room. Or the way he had brought that art to life in the water just outside the beach house. He tried not to think about those heavy breaths being a result of his touch, and Harry’s easy submission to him once he kissed him quiet.

 

“Oh, looks like the pigs are stalking me,” Harry commented loudly. “Oink oink...”

 

Louis pursed his lips, resting his rucksack in a seat beside the ring. So, Niall had lied. Harry _hadn't_ given permission for his whereabouts to be shared. If Harry ever decided to sue the Bureau, he'd win without a fight.

 

“Alright,” Louis began gently. “It's a felony to insult an Officer but I’ll let that go since I’m technically not a cop...”

 

“What's the name for the FBI?” Harry asked his gym partner. The man shrugged. “Fucking Bozo Idiots, isn’t it?”

 

Louis stared, arms folding across his chest.

 

He deserved that. But he was hoping for a chance to _talk_ at least.

 

“Pretty sure we can't fuck our way out of this argument,” Louis replied.  “And since you don’t seem to be in much of a mood to talk, why don’t we just fight it out?”

 

“What argument? I thought I was a jumped-up dick that you were done with?”

 

“Well it seems I was wrong...” Louis offered plainly, earnest eyes lifting to meet Harry's.

 

Harry looked at him for a long moment, his lip curling slowly into a smug smile.

 

“C'mon then, Rambo,” He cajoled. “Get up here...”

 

Louis pulled on his gloves and tightened the laces with his teeth, the gym attendant climbing down off the boards to tie them properly.

 

“I’m Jack,” He greeted. “And these are the rules..”

 

“Fuck the rules,” Harry called over the side ropes as he bounced lightly on his feet and cricked his neck either side.

Jack glanced at him bemusedly.

 

“The rules are: no hitting above the shoulder or below the belt. No kicking, no using the ropes to assist your advance.”

 

Harry snorted.

 

“You’re going down, Louis. That _is_ your name isn’t it?”

 

Louis climbed through the ropes and began to warm up, stretching his arms as his eyes met focused green ones. Harry looked as tired as Louis felt. He had dark circles underneath his eyes and that stretched look about his skin as he clenched his teeth. Louis could only take a deep breath as he started his lunges.

 

“Yeah that’s my name. And yours is?” He asked back with a sweet smile.

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“What an unusual name,” Louis mused.

 

“Don’t give my name out to assholes,” Harry muttered darkly while Louis did a few squats.

 

Louis clashed his gloved fists together to signal his readiness to start.

 

Harry leapt forward and struck him quickly on the arm, darting back and following up with a low blow to his hip.

 

“Hey!” Louis stuttered back a step, eyes blazing. “That was below the belt!”

 

“Now you know what it feels like!” Harry accused; fists striking him in a left-right-left combination and leaving him smarting in pain and pride.

 

“Fuck,” he dodged back, half-heartedly lashing out to block Harry’s constant attack, holding back from truly hitting him.

 

“Come on, _Lewis_ ,” Harry goaded. “Trained with best didn’t you? Got a degree in _betrayal_...”

 

Harry punched him hard in the shoulder and Louis tumbled, falling to his knee. Jack passed him a water bottle and told Harry to ‘cool down’. Harry smirked and waited for Louis to get to his feet before hitting him in the shoulder again.

 

“Look!” Louis poked him in the chest with the tip of his glove, earning a surprised smile from his opponent. “You fucking lie about your name, too,” he accused. “And you could have just fucking told me about the photographs!”

 

“Hah!” Harry quacked out an accusing laugh. “Like I wanted a guy I thought I liked to know how fucked up my family is! Who would want to advertise that, Louis?”

 

“Someone who’s up for paedophilia?” Louis challenged. “Anyway…just how fucked up _is_ your family?” He added uncertainly.

 

Harry caught him in the stomach. Louis let it go with a gentle shove.

 

“You wanna know how fucked up my family is?” Harry demanded, shoving at Louis’ chest with both arms. “How about the fact my biological father; who’s one of the most important political figures in the country- in the World, even…the man who cast me out for wanting to fuck people for a living; how about finding out that _he_ was the one fucking people he shouldn’t? Young girls, apparently. _Minors_ ,” Harry beseeched. “How about finding out one of them got pregnant and gave birth to a child…finding out that you have a half-brother or sister out there who has no idea they have a _real_ family because they’re being hidden away?”

 

Louis’ breath left his lungs with the same sudden blast as the truth hitting him in the stomach; along with Harry’s gloved fist. He gasped for air; eyes burning.

 

“How about,” Harry continued, voice low and gritty. “Being arrested for a crime you didn’t commit? But that your _father_ committed? Using _your_ name?” Harry posed. “Is _that_ fucked up enough for you? Do you get it yet?”

 

Louis got it. He got it in technicolour surround-sound, full audio. But would Harry ever forgive him for assuming the worst? For assuming the accusations were real?

 

Because—

 

Hadn’t Harry--? Had Louis imagined those words? _A guy I thought I liked._

 

“I get it,” He conceded. “Alright, I fucking get it. But you didn’t like me,” he accused gruffly. “You kept telling me that.”

 

“If you had a fucking brain, _Lewis_ , which clearly you don't,“ he derided. “You’d have fucking noticed how I introduced you to everyone I knew as my boyfriend...You’d have noticed that I gave you those photos before we fucked so that you could see for yourself exactly what I was up to. _You_ were the one who tossed them away. I thought you _trusted_ me,” he finished with a pain-stricken face, right fist swinging around to lash Louis in the face, the blow hitting his cheek.

 

Louis landed on his side.

 

“No strikes above the shoulder!” Jack reprimanded as he climbed up to check on Louis.

 

Louis caught his breath and flicked his eyes to Harry. Harry who was trying very hard not to look like he was watching him to make sure he was okay.

 

Louis sat up.

 

“I’m good,” he assured, rolling his eyes as Jack taped up his cheek. He must have cut it.

 

He got to his feet and swallowed, lifting his gloves once more. He didn’t know how to explain everything to Harry, his reaction to his arrest had been inexcusable. But he had to try.

 

“I was in so fucking deep, Harry,” he began thickly, earning a swift little hook to his ribs that he danced away from. _Good_. That meant _something,_ surely. “I was shitting myself because I’d gone and fucking—fucking broken every rule in the book. And there you were being led away and I—I panicked,” he admitted with a sigh as Harry's foot flicked out to kick him.

 

“Rules!” Jack called again.

 

Louis began to block the blows, Harry forming some kind of method to his routine that Louis learned to follow.

 

“I didn’t know who you really were,” Harry accused. “You knew who I was from the start! Not my real name, but I guess you knew _that_ anyway,” he murmured.  “But _me_. I wasn’t pretending,” he stated, his eyes meeting Louis’ for the first time since the fight had started.

 

Louis paused, gloves dipping as his feet stopped moving and he sucked in a breath as he stared into Harry’s soul.

 

“I wasn’t pretending either,” he promised in a whisper. “Not about how I felt.”

 

Harry blinked, glove nudging into Louis' side, more to get him to move again rather than inflict pain. He kept poking at Louis' body, searching for weak spots.

 

Louis began to hurt, the rough blows throbbing into forming bruises as Harry’s face furrowed into a grimace.

 

“How do I know you’re not lying to me now? You could be on another case trying to steal my secrets...”

 

“Oh, fuck you!” Louis shunted Harry in the chest, hard. “I'm trying to fucking-" He pushed him again, teeth clenching in anger. “Apologise!”

 

Harry's feet didn’t coordinate, or he didn’t expect the second shove because he staggered back a bit, feet tangling and then he was falling and Louis was so fucking livid that he was losing everything he’d ever wanted that he just stood there, unmoving while Harry hit the deck.

 

“Fuck,” he hissed as Harry cried out in pain, his head smacking back onto the springboard and his body going limp with the impact. “Harry? Harry, fuck I’m sorry...I’m sorry, okay?”

 

Louis quickly skidded to his knees beside Harry’s body, searching behind him for Jack but the room was empty. He’d obviously stepped out for a minute and _holy fuck_ Louis was panicking, leaning forward to listen for Harry’s breath and trying to untie his gloves with his teeth.

 

“Harry!” He begged, wild-eyed. His voice was strained and his heart was on full speed and he’d never felt sicker in his life. Except for possibly the moment he thought he had lost Harry in the woods. “It’s my fucking _job_ to pretend,” he babbled quickly, panicked. “It’s not easy for me to fucking say all of this, you know! I wanted to fucking pack it in so many times and--"

 

Louis paused, realising his truths weren’t being heard.

 

 “Jack!” He twisted to yell at the empty room.

 

When he turned back, he thought he saw a twitch in those shapely lips.

 

“Harry?”

 

The twitch flickered into a smirk.

 

“Yeah?” Harry peeked one eye open with a slow grin. If it wasn’t for his dimples, Louis might have strangled him.

 

“You--! You fucking--!”

 

Harry wriggled onto his back a bit, blinking slowly.

 

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

 

Louis sighed, figuring he had to lay everything out on the floor. A bit like Harry was now, really.

 

“Because...because I didn’t expect to fucking fall in love with you,” he heaved in a breath. “I didn’t expect to be sat there, having been inside you, being told you'd done all the things I was supposed to be investigating you for; only I _hadn’t_. I failed spectacularly because all I could think about was; _how do I get to stay_? How do I get to not leave him and _—have him as mine_ ,” he beseeched, whispering the last part in the quietest voice.

 

Harry stopped smirking, his nostrils flared with the harshness of his breath, his eyes fixed on Louis as his brows furrowed in sorrow.

 

“So, you yelled at me instead?” He accused, eyes filling with tears. “You stood there and tore me down for—for what? Your own fear?”

 

Louis felt his own tears well up at the level of pathetic he had reached that night at the station. He nodded, pain hitching in his chest as he squeezed his eyes shut against the sting of his regret; his wrist lifted towards his mouth, so he could finish pulling free the laces on his gloves.

 

He quickly loosened them enough to flick them off, to the side. He wanted to place his hands on Harry’s body. On his face, his chest, his arms, anywhere; but he didn’t have permission, yet. Still, he found his hands drawn to Harry; gently shaping around his face.

 

“Yeah,” he managed to force out against his tight, stinging throat. “I was scared. I was scared that I'd fucked up my whole assignment by falling for a guy who could have been pulling my chain all along,” Louis shared brokenly. “I mean it’s like you said in about the waiter...why would he like you in your glasses? Fuck, Harry, that’s when I really saw _you_ for the first time. And I loved seeing you like that. And I love every other version of you, but—what the fuck would a guy like you see in a guy like me? I thought—I thought you were humouring me,” he huffed, keeping his eyes fixed low, tracing the swathing pattern of Harrys leg hair as it clung to his sweat. “I thought that once I was gone you’d be laughing about me with my big-dicked replacement who'd be funnier and less boring and--"

 

“Fuck,” the heartfelt rasp brought Louis’ face up. He bit into his lip.

 

“I deserve to be knocked out,” he stated very simply, sniffing. “I betrayed you in the worst way possible and--"

 

“Not the worst way,” came a deep, slow voice from swollen lips that twisted as Louis flicked his eyes over Harry’s face.

 

“What?”

 

“Well the worst way would be to cheat on me,” he frowned. “And you didn’t do that...I don’t think?”

 

Louis swallowed and shook his head.

 

“I—no, it’s just you.”

 

Harry smirked.

 

“You thought I was hurt,” he accused then.

 

Louis pursed his lips.

 

“No, I just didn’t want you to die alone that’s all...”

 

“You were telling me _everything_ ,” Harry mused. “Like how you would give up your job for me and--"

 

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, eyeing his mouth. _No more lies_. “I would...”

 

Harry stared at him, shocked.

 

“You don’t need to that.” He whispered.

 

Louis swallowed, brows furrowing. “I would, though.”

 

Harry shook his head, fidgeting to shift into a sitting position beside Louis, removing himself from Louis’ comforting touch.

 

“You don’t need to because this doesn’t mean you’re forgiven, Louis,” he posed.

 

Louis’ eyes flared, his lips parting as the breath left his lungs.

 

“O-oh,” he breathed, shock hitting him full-force in the chest.

 

He had hoped; had believed for one short, fleeting moment that _maybe,_ just maybe they could work things out, that his confession would be enough to repair the damage he’d done.

 

Harry pushed himself up off the springboards; unlacing his gloves one by one. His lips were pouted and his brows furrowed as he concentrated on his task.

 

“You’ve got my rings,” Harry stated, cool green eyes studying Louis.

 

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, getting up slowly; pausing when his head span a bit on rising. His cheek throbbed along with the rest of his body but there was nothing to comfort him in his pain.

 

“Hope they’re all there,” Louis hummed as he dug out the velvet pouch containing Harry’s rings from his rucksack. “Here,” Louis handed him the soft bag with a nervous smile.

 

Harry eyed him cautiously.

 

“It’s not a bug is it? A listening device or--"

 

Louis swallowed, meeting Harry’s wary, accusing gaze.

 

“No, it’s nothing like that,” he promised quietly; flicking his eyes away.

 

Standing right in front of him; sweaty and topless and more beautiful than ever Louis realised he wasn’t going to win Harry back, with his love or his words, or anything else he might have to offer. None of it was enough.

 

“See you later, Louis,” Harry grasped the pouch in his hand; turning to stride slowly towards the exit; leaving Louis desolate in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hides*


	11. Chapter 11

Back at the hotel, Harry loosened the tie on the neck of the velvet pouch Louis had given him and pressed his thighs together to catch the contents. His eyes scanned the bands and slowly slipped them on one by one until one was left, an extra one he hadn’t been expecting.

 

“What’s this, then?” Harry’s lips pulled into a bemused smile, fingertips turning the thick gold band to inspect it. “It’s...It’s a sunflower,” He looked at the stone-embedded flower design, pretty yellow gems catching his attention.

 

_Was it meant for him? Or had another felon’s jewellery been placed with his by mistake?_

It was a _sunflower_ , though. Harry’s nickname. His nickname that was now complimented with Louis’ nickname, _Buttercup_. He could curse Diamond for welcoming Louis so readily into the fold. He may see Louis as a pretty, bright, sun-related flower, but Harry knew otherwise.

 

He shuddered as the bitter memory of Louis’ anger washed over him; leaving him cold and afraid. _Louis could turn against him again, how could he trust him, now?_

_I didn’t expect to fucking fall in love with you._

Louis’ words haunted him; echoing in his ears.

 

_What the fuck would a guy like you see in a guy like me?_

Harry’s chest ached. It had ached from the minute Louis had been ripped out of his arms; and it hadn’t stopped aching in the days since they were parted; but his own anger burned hot enough to block the pain out. Only now his anger had been abated. He’d literally beaten his frustration out of Louis’ lithe little body. And all he had left was fear and regret.

 

And possibly, _maybe_ , a tiny flicker of love.

 

Maybe.

 

If he was willing to admit it.

 

Harry cupped the ring in his hand and swallowed. He had to find out if the ring was meant for him.

 

//

 

 

“Think you’ve mixed up my stuff with another felon,” Harry greeted as Louis opened his office door to the polite knock upon it.

 

 _Harry was there_. Why was Harry there? What—

 

Louis glanced behind him to check Niall’s face for any indication he knew about Harry’s intention to visit FBI HQ, and found the Irish man slithering into the tech corner to hide.

 

Louis swallowed; meeting Harry’s questioning gaze. He looked kind of stunning in a blue, velvet suit.

 

“No, everything was yours,” he strove for light-hearted and came off strained.

 

“Even this?” Harry dipped into his chest pocket to pull out the incredible sunflower ring.

 

“That was in there on purpose,” Louis assured, eyes dipping to the pussy bow of Harry’s cream, flimsy shirt.

 

He had missed him in the smallest ways. The way he fell asleep against him; his soft, slow breathing while he slept; the way his fingers liked to find Louis’ skin somehow just to touch. Louis missed all of it; even if it hadn’t been real. How could it be? Harry hadn't told him he loved him back.

 

“You bought it for me?” Harry asked, outright.

 

He still looked fragile. He looked tired and young and Louis wanted to hug him for as long as Harry needed him to. It hurt to know he couldn’t do that, anymore.

 

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, breath stuck in his lungs. He was beginning to feel dizzy and his heart was forgetting how to beat.

 

“It’s—” he looked up, long legs fidgeting as his green eyes focused on Louis. “It’s _beautiful_ ,” he murmured. 

 

“Thought you’d like the miniature sunflower,” Louis offered. “Little was one of your “likes" after all.” He ventured, painfully.

 

Harry only nodded with a pouty lip, sliding the ring onto his pointer finger. Louis felt his stomach dive in disappointment. It was meant to be for his empty finger; the one waiting for an engagement ring.

 

“Thank you,” he murmured, softly.

 

Louis glanced back into the room; finding Niall still pretending to be immersed in his broken radio set.

 

“Do you want to er- you can come in,” He invited cautiously.

 

Harry’s eyes lifted over his shoulder; falling on Niall on the corner and then returning to Louis.

 

“I was wondering if-” Harry paused, taking a breath. “If I could ask for your help?” He managed with a shaky voice.

 

“Of course,” Louis nodded, automatically lifting his hand to smooth his palm over Harry’s arm in comfort; quickly slipping it away when Harry’s dark eyes stared at him. “Sorry,” he added with a wince.

 

“I need to find someone,” Harry broached. “My father had an illegitimate child with a young woman who had him or her adopted,” he explained again; more calmly than when he had been belting the living daylights out of Louis.

 

His eyes flicked to the cut on Louis’ cheek; still healing over and his hand itched to trace the wound with a tender thumb. When he looked back at Louis he looked so close to tears that Harry nearly gave in and pulled him into a tight hug.

 

“I can help you,” Louis promised in a whisper.

 

Harry took another deep breath.

 

“Alright, so…how does it work?”

 

Louis licked his lips.

 

“Why don’t you come and sit down and have a hot drink?” He suggested, widening the door to let him into the boy-pit that he called his office. “Tell me everything you know and we can go from there?”

 

Harry walked into the room and stared at Niall.

 

“Hi,” he called, a little loudly.

 

Niall looked up with feigned surprise.

 

“Oh, hi there, mate! How ya doing?”

 

“You must be one of Louis’ colleagues?” Harry recognised the brunette from the police station. He strolled closer when Niall got up to greet him formally with a handshake.

 

“So’re you,” Niall winked knowingly, drawing a reluctant tug from Harry’s lips. “Met you before,” he added. “I’m Niall.”

 

“I hope he’s better at investigating stuff than he is at porn,” Harry mused quietly.

 

Niall snorted.

 

“He’s the fucking best,” he claimed, then looked contrite. “After me, that is.”

 

Harry nodded, blinking slowly and turning back to find Louis hovering anxiously behind him.

 

“Tea?” He asked.

 

“Hot chocolate, if you have it,” Harry replied, glancing at Niall as Louis turned towards the small kitchenette to make his drink.

 

“Have a seat on the sofa,” Niall invited. “Watch all the covert operations while you’re here…”

 

Harry smirked, eyes drifting to Niall amusedly.

 

“You watched me?” He guessed. “On these screens?”

 

“Well, Tommo had a bit of trouble with his equipment for most of his assignment,” Niall winked. “Not sure quite why that is…”

 

Harry shot a curious look at the petite man carrying two mugs across the room.

 

“Your shoddy work, Neil,” Louis barbed quickly.

 

Harry’s lips twisted with slowly dawning realisation that perhaps Louis had shielded their liaisons because he’d known he was wrong to be indulging in sexual relations with him. And Louis had told him he had gotten in too deep; that he’d abandoned the professional part of his work due to his feelings for Harry; but Harry maybe hadn’t believed him. Until now.

 

“Right,” Louis settled Harry’s chocolate in front of him and fetched his notebook. “Tell me everything.”

 

//

 

Harry was wearing his big-framed glasses and his purple pants. His hair was that soft, unstyled fuzz that Louis maybe liked more than his silky-set curls.

 

And he had—

 

He had a tongue stud.

 

Oh sure, Louis had witnessed the piercing hole himself but the way Harry tugged at the ball stud between his teeth was distracting. _Highly distracting_ to be precise.

 

And Louis still didn’t understand why Harry had come to _him_ after telling him he wasn’t forgiven. Because the slim hope that Harry _might_ feel something for him was so precious that Louis couldn’t bring himself to study it for fear of losing it all over again. Hope was what got him up every morning.

 

They had already traced the Mother of the child who they believed to be Harry’s half brother, and Louis dipped out to make hot chocolate while Niall took charge of the trace system.

 

When he ferried the drinks over, a packet of cookies tucked under his arm, Harry had his hands cupped over his face; ringed fingers bearing the chunky jewellery Louis had returned to him only a couple of weeks before.

Louis felt fear strike through him like cold sword.

 

“What is it?” He swallowed, laying down the drinks on the low table and hovering beside Harry sat in the sofa.

 

Niall looked up from his computer in the corner.

 

“It’s a boy,” He shared. “He was named Sebastian and placed in foster care. He hasn’t been adopted, yet..”

 

Louis’ heart soared with the news. But he frowned, eyeing Harry’s curled, hidden form worriedly. He snuck a hand out to slide it onto his shoulder, anticipating a glare or a jolt from the touch.

 

Louis didn’t expect Harry to sob, curling tighter into himself. He sent Niall a desperate, wide-eyed look and his friend merely smirked, cocking a brow. Niall got up and walked out with a salute, leaving Louis alone with a racing heart and an aching chest.

 

“Er...” Louis cleared his throat, perching delicately beside Harry on the sofa. “You okay, Harry?”

 

The use of his real name seemed to draw another hurt noise from the distraught man and Louis could only take so much really. He was in his own personal hell being so close to the man he loved and not being able to comfort him, but he ignored protocol and just coaxed Harry around into his arms; pulling him against his chest with a sigh into his frizzy hair.

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Louis rubbed his arm once Harry had -albeit stiffly- pressed against him, hands still shielding his face as he snuffled wryly underneath them. “We’ll work everything out okay? We can find his placement and talk to the officials about guardianship and-"

 

Harry lifted his hands from his tear-streaked face.

 

“I have a brother!” He slipped his glasses off to wipe at his eyes as Louis tightened his arm around his waist, one hand lifting to take the frames and propping them on his own head before he let his fingers slide into Harry's hair.

 

“You do,” he smiled gently, soothing Harry with his touch.

 

Harry gave into his tension, nestling further into Louis with a sniffle.

 

“Sebastian,” he whispered.  “If they kept his name...”

 

Louis leaned forward to tug some tissues from the box on the table, passing them to Harry.

 

“Where did Niall go?” He asked as he cleaned himself up, eyes flicking to Louis' hair where his glasses were settled.

 

“Oh, here you go,” Louis handed them over, reluctantly releasing Harry from his hold. “He’s just gone for a quick break,” Louis added.

 

Harry nodded  cleaning the lenses of his glasses before putting them back on, wiping stray tears away.

 

“I can’t believe I have a _brother_ ,” he murmured in a snot-thick voice.

 

Louis shifted the chocolate closer to Harry.

 

“Have your drink,” he encouraged quietly, clasping his knees to stop himself from touching again.

 

Harry sipped his drink  slowly, thigh brushing Louis' shyly as his tongue stud clicked against his teeth as he bit into the rod.

 

“Thank you, Louis.” His voice was deep and husky with the remnants of his emotion and his lashes were damp when he flicked them up to focus on Louis. “Thank you for everything,” he added.

 

“Harry, look--"

 

The office door opening cut Louis off from his thought.

 

“Alright?” Niall stuck his head into the room first.

 

Harry nodded with a shaky smile.

 

“I’m good,” he assured.

 

“Right then, let’s get some info,” Niall strode to his corner to settle behind his computer once more.

 

Louis got up with a quiet sigh and headed for the door.

 

“Just nipping out for a leak while you’re finishing up,” he murmured before slipping out.

//

 

It was two days later when Harry returned to the office to continue finalising the paperwork relating to contacting his half brother.

 

The door was ajar when he approached, voices present which echoed into the hall. He paused and loitered outside, frowning as he strained to catch the thread of conversation.

 

“...It’s based in Hawaii, you’d be working behind the bar on the beach, getting to know this guy...”

 

Harry didn’t recognise the soft, deep voice.

 

“But I’ve just finished one operation,” he heard Louis reply, voice higher pitched and sharper but only for the tone. He only ever spoke softly to Harry with the exception of the police station.

 

“And you need to get back out there, Tommo. Don’t dwell on fact that the last operation didn’t run as planned.”

 

“I failed,” Louis' voice sounded gritty when he spoke next. “I know that I failed but I’m—I’m not ready to go back out there yet...”

 

“Look, I’m sending Agent Richards up to talk about the job,” the other voice said, making Harry frown. “He’s been staking out the beach, so he knows the details.”

 

Hadn’t Louis just said he wasn’t ready to take another job? And what _was_ the job anyway?

 

Harry stepped back in the shadows while the unknown man left the room, giving a couple of minutes before knocking on the still-open door.

 

“Come in, Mark,” Louis called and Harry pushed open the door. “Oh, Harry, sorry,” Louis smiled at him wanly but turned away with tiredness lining his eyes. “I was expecting someone else.”

 

“Can I come in?” Harry checked.

 

Louis looked over his shoulder from where he was fetching coffee. Harry eyed the espresso warily.

 

“Yeah, yeah of course you can,” he forced his lips to move. “You’re always welcome,” he added.

 

Harry knew that. And he felt some of his previous hurt melt away. Louis was hurting too, he could see it now.

 

“What’s wrong ?” Harry asked honestly as Louis automatically brought him a chocolate.

 

Louis glanced at him in surprise.

 

“Oh, nothing,” he waved a dismissive hand. “Work stuff.”

 

Harry sipped his drink and lifted his brows in silent encouragement.

 

“My boss wants me to go undercover as a barman on the beach in Hawaii,” he shared.

 

Harry wasn’t sure whether candidness was the right approach, so he opted for humour.

 

“Can I have your boss?” He teased.

 

Louis smiled tightly with a nod.

 

“Arms deals,” he added quietly. “I didn’t tell you that, of course,” he added quickly, seemingly wrestling with his own conscience about whether to confide or not. Apparently where Harry was concerned, Louis didn’t pay much attention to the rules. “Usually ends up with someone getting hurt,” Louis added contritely. “Guns are never fun.”

 

Something reared up in Harry’s chest, surging forth to clutch over his heart and tightening around his throat and it felt a bit like panic.

 

He didn't want Louis to be hurt. And considering how many blows he had laid on him with his boxing gloves it felt ironic, but it was true. He didn’t want Louis to go to Hawaii; he needed him right there to guide him through the process of meeting his brother.

 

And Louis looked so small beside him. He looked so defeated. Harry just wanted to wrap him up the way Louis had done to him when he’d burst into tears. Because Harry could still feel the lingering tenderness of Louis' love all over him no matter how hard he tried to wipe it away.

 

“How’s work for you anyway?” Louis changed topic due to Harry’s numb silence.

 

“Quiet,” Harry replied, still processing his thoughts.

 

“Oh, no new twink to wind you up?” Louis teased.

 

Harry blinked.

 

“I handed in my notice,” Harry shared.

 

Louis' gaze snapped to him.

 

“Oh. When was that?”

 

Harry sipped his drink, eyes diverting from Louis to his cup.

 

“When um...When I got cleared,” he mumbled.

 

_When I realised I couldn’t fuck anyone else._

“Oh,” Louis said again, frowning.

 

“I’m starting auditions next week for TV shows,” he shared, quietly hopeful. “I hired an agent to help me pick good roles to go for...”

 

“I’m uh...I’m sure you’ll be amazing,” Louis managed to say.

 

A sharp rap of knuckles on the door startled them both.

 

“Louis, have you got a—oh, my apologies,” Mark smiled as he stepped into the room.

 

“Mark, hi,” Louis stood up. “Um, this is Harry, we're just working through a missing person's case...”

 

“I can come back?” The other agent offered, eyes flicking over Harry and then settling on Louis warmly in a way that Harry didn’t like.

 

“No, let’s um...step outside?” Louis suggested.

 

“Sure,” Mark smiled as Louis turned back in the doorway.

 

“Harry, I’ll be two minutes,” he promised, leaving the door ajar as he stepped into the hall.

 

Harry pretended not to listen, eyes secretly but avidly tracing the pair.

 

“So, you want to know about the job?” Mark asked.

 

Louis smiled tightly, turning his back to Harry slightly.

 

“Actually, I want to sit this one out, but James told me to have a chat...”

 

Harry saw Mark’s smile.

 

“It’s a great opportunity,” he encouraged. “You like socialising...”

 

“Not with gun fanatics,” Louis mused.

 

“Hey...” Harry frowned as Mark cupped Louis' elbow, drawing him closer to himself. “They’re trading rifles in exchange for cocaine. It’s a clean-cut case. Get the info, set up a raid and get out...”

 

Harry could see the way Louis' shoulders rose and fell with a sigh.

 

“I’ve been on too many “clean cut“ cases to know that’s not always how it goes down.”

 

“Look, don’t let the last job mess with your head, Louis. You’ll get over it. You’re too good at what you do to take it to heart...”

 

And....wasn’t he getting a little too close? Harry craned his neck to track their movements, leaning sideways on the couch to see. Louis was smiling at his feet while Mark crowded closer still.

 

Harry couldn’t make out the words being murmured; he could only see the way Mark’s thumb brushed over Louis' arm soothingly. He could only watch that particular travesty and fight the unwanted boiling rage that bubbled up inside him.

 

Because—

 

Well who was this Mark person, exactly? And who had given him free dibs on Louis? Harry wasn’t done with him. Even though he had _told_ him he was, he didn’t fucking _mean_ it! And Louis knew that, surely? Surely Louis knew that Harry showing up was the equivalent of a big fucking neon flashing sign saying _I maybe love you a little bit is that OK?_

Harry needed a sign. He needed it right now because—Louis couldn’t go to Hawaii. He just couldn’t. It wasn’t fair for fate to snatch him away when Harry had only just realised that maybe—maybe he could forgive him for what happened at the station. Louis had bought him a _ring_. A very beautiful, very meaningful ring. And he’d taken every one of Harry’s punches along with his rejection and still walked away with dignity. He’d still _helped_ Harry even though he could have turned him away, for good.

 

Harry didn’t hate him. He’d never hated him. He’d just been hurt. And maybe hurt could be fixed? Maybe the idea of losing Louis to another guy; to another _job_ , was enough to make Harry want to change things between them for the better.

 

He had to do _something._ He shot to his feet, face set determinedly to fix this.

 

Louis pushed back inside the room, fingers drifting through his silky fringe with a weary breath. He noticed Harry on his feet and frowned.

 

“Going somewhere?”

 

Harry froze, teeth grinding down on the ball stud pierced through his tongue.

 

_I maybe love you a little bit is that OK?_

 

“I um...I have to go,” he stated, clearing his throat and avoiding Louis' gaze.

 

“Already?” Louis looked desolate. “We haven’t even started, yet.”

 

“Yeah, um.” Harry swallowed. “Audition,” he lied, pointing to his pager. “Just got called in...”

 

He moved with purpose towards the door, denim overalls and purple converse standing out like a sore thumb against the Fed's navy uniform. Which Louis just happened to wear incredibly well. He didn’t realise he was biting on his tongue stud until he found Louis staring.

 

“I’ll be back,” Harry murmured as he came level with Louis, by the door.

 

“Okay,” Louis nodded, voice quiet.

 

It took everything Harry had to walk away.

 

//

 

“So, I was thinking,” Harry’s voice was slow and casual as Louis picked up his desk phone to answer the incoming call that Niall had handed over without explanations.

 

“Hmm?” Louis hummed, watching Niall gesture crudely from the sofa, tongue poked hard into his cheek, hand motioning wanking off. He rolled his eyes, bored expression fixed in place.

 

“Maybe you could, you know...bring the case file over and we could work on it from home?”

 

 _Home?_ Louis turned away from Niall's ever- increasingly lewd actions.

 

“Is everything okay?” Louis asked.

 

“Yeah,” Harry cleared his throat quietly. “I’m just....I think I’m getting sick, maybe. And I don’t want to drag my germs into your office and become public enemy number one,” he joked. “Again,” he added tritely.

 

Louis huffed slightly at the dig.

 

“You think they would have put me on the case if you were _that_ notorious?” he mused.

 

“Yeah, I do,” Harry vouched and Louis felt his tummy flutter in unbridled hope.  He tamped it down. _It didn’t mean anything. Harry just felt too sick to leave the house._

 

“So, I’ll come to your Malibu Barbie beach house, then?” Louis checked.

 

It was Harry's turn to chuckle.

 

“You obviously didn’t get the memo. _I’m_ Barbie...you’re Ken.”

 

_And what did that mean, exactly? Louis' heart urged to know._

He sighed softly, biting his lip. It was probably Harry being Harry. Well, being _Eddie_ to be exact. Flirting. Didn’t he know by now that Louis would help him _without_ the innuendo?

 

“Too short to be considered a classic idol,” Louis mused.

 

“Louis?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Come to the town house,” Harry invited.

 

“Okay,” Louis agreed. “Tonight?”

 

“Perfect. I'll make dinner,” he promised.

 

“See you then,” Louis signed off, turning to find Niall on his knees directly behind him, tongue out and arms stretched back.

 

Niall slipped into cackling giggles as Louis started forward to cuff him. Niall shot up and streaked to the other side of the office.

 

“Fuck off, Neil,” Louis warned.

 

“You’re going blow him again, we both know you are,” his friend teased with a twinkle in his eye.

 

Louis folded his arms.

 

“Unless you had forgotten, he’s not actually craving my mouth on him in the near future,” he bit out.

 

Niall snorted.

 

“Yeah, right,” he denied.

 

Louis kept his stance but eyed Niall hesitantly.

 

“Has he said something?” He ventured.

 

Niall let out a loud “Hah!” and slapped his knee.

 

“Lou, for fuck’s sake, have you even been _looking_ at him since he rolled up here? At your _workplace._ A place full of people he most likely detests because of how he was treated and yet still managed to waltz in and, oh yeah...ask for _your_ help specifically. After belting the crap out of you. I mean...that’s _truly_ a guy who doesn’t want his dick in your mouth,” he added sarcastically. “For certain.”

 

Louis tucked his hands into his uniform trouser pockets.

 

“You think I should shower and change into something nice for tonight?” He asked shyly, licking his lips.

 

“Fuck, yes!” Niall yelled, causing Louis to startle. Niall smiled and came closer to squeeze his elbow. “You look good in blue,” he murmured. “Wear that shirt you got with...well your boxers,” Niall suggested with a grin and a wink. “Pretty sure that’ll do ya...”

 

Louis huffed impatiently but pulled Niall in for a hug.

 

“Thanks, Neil,” he smirked at the nickname.

 

“Try not to fuck it up this time,” Niall chided gently.

//

 

 

“I'm selling the beach house.”

 

Louis was watching Harry cook from the kitchen table, Harry leaning against the counter between bouts of activity.

 

“What?” His heart Jack-knifed in his chest.

 

Harry shrugged, arms crossed over his chest. He looked like an extra in Miami Vice in a turquoise Hawaiian shirt and cream pants.

 

“I’ve got no use for it now...” He curled his tongue to click the ball stud against his teeth.

 

“Your painting,” Louis murmured ineffectively, flicking his eyes away from Harry’s searching gaze.

 

“You liked the Barbie mansion?” Harry asked over his shoulder curiously.

 

Louis swallowed. He had no say at all in Harry’s property repertoire. But the beach house had become important to him, somehow. The sofa where they'd fallen softly asleep together. The secret library that Harry guarded fiercely from public eyes. The privacy of their own slice of water where Louis had made Harry orgasm in his arms.

 

He couldn’t deny that he was sad to see it go. And even sadder that Harry didn’t feel the same way about it. Maybe Louis had imagined the hope that had been tantalisingly offered in their telephone conversation.

 

“Just-" He swallowed, smiling tightly at the table top. “Memories, you know?”

 

His voice was raspy and strained so he forced some levity, sitting up and taking a fortifying breath, meeting Harry’s concerned gaze from across the room. In that moment Louis knew that Harry was looking right into his soul, reading all of his carefully hidden scripts; finger reading his fears written in Braille.

 

Harry blinked, thumb brushing under his lower lip firmly.

 

“Maybe I'll keep it,” he said, turning back toward the stove. “I thought-" He paused, turning off the hob to glance at Louis before he carried his saucepan to the counter where he had laid plates to serve.

 

“You thought what?” Louis wondered.

 

Harry's lips pulled into a lop sided, lazy half-smile, something that Louis used to recognise as a smirk only now he knew it meant so much more.

 

“I thought that nobody liked it,” he carefully spooned rice into the plates, returning for the meat sauce he had cooked. “I thought that people thought it was extravagant and egotistical...”

 

Louis watched him carefully as he brought over the plates, sucking some stray sauce from the side of his thumb with a pleased hum, twisting to mooch back for a wine bottle. Harry already coveted a large wine glass with a tiny remnant of red, and when Louis flicked his eyes around the kitchen he cited an empty bottle. The sauce on the plate didn’t look to be made with red wine so he could only assume Harry had drunk the bottle already.

 

It was entirely possible that the ‘people' Harry spoke of included _him_.

 

“It’s definitely both of those things,” Louis mused softly as Harry sat down and stretched his feet out, going about pouring their wine.

 

It was white this time, turning his own glass a faint pink while Louis sipped his cautiously.

 

“But I don’t think you should make any hasty decisions,” he added.

 

“Try the chicken,” Harry smiled eagerly, pursing his lips excitedly, waiting for Louis to taste.

 

Louis tucked into the rice and chicken sauce.

 

“It’s good,” he smiled. “Really good.”

 

Harry gulped half of his wine with an uncharacteristic urgency; almost a nervous reaction if Louis had to judge it. But why was Harry nervous? Nothing made sense and he couldn’t work it out.

 

“We can cosy up in the den after dinner,” Harry suggested. “You can update me on the paperwork and we can you know...unwind...”

 

“You look pretty relaxed already,” Louis teased.

 

Harry scratched his chest over his shirt, eyeing his drink with a serene smile.

 

“You don’t feel like getting a little loose, Lou?”

 

 _Lou. Fuck. When was the last time Harry had called him that?_ It felt like too long.

 

“I have to drive back,” Louis reminded him gently.

 

Because all of a sudden it felt like Niall might be right about dinner actually being a date in disguise and Louis wasn’t sure how to process that concept. He'd spent the last two months reminding himself to get over Harry Styles and now Harry was hinting that he maybe shouldn’t bother anymore.

 

He was warming up to Louis again, _maybe_.

 

Harry grinned, giggling around his next sip of wine.

 

“You can stay over you know,” he offered with a wink and a cluck of his tongue.

 

“I didn’t bring my overnight bag,” Louis shovelled rice into his mouth with a wan smirk.

 

Harry's eyes lingered on him, dipping to his mouth, then his throat. Louis fiddled with the neckline of his shirt and Harry let out a breathy chuck of air.

 

“Think I can accommodate your needs, Lou,” he assured, voice deep and lazy.

 

Louis felt an old, familiar heat burn enticingly in his belly. Their eyes met, Harry’s holding a warmth they hadn’t before.

 

“Oh,” Louis swallowed, eyeing his neatly settled knife and fork.

 

“Hmm, so you know, get comfortable,” Harry murmured.

 

Louis nodded, watching Harry over the rim of his glass.

 

“Why don’t you go through and I’ll bring dessert in,” Harry suggested as Louis sat back.

 

“Sure,” Louis agreed quietly and shifted out of his chair.


	12. Chapter 12

“Lou?” Harry watched him with thoughtful eyes as Louis combed fingers through his hair and nibbled on his mint ice-cream and home-made brownie.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Why didn't you hit me?” Harry wondered.

 

“Hmm, what?” Louis licked ice-cream from his hand, distracted.

 

“Why didn’t you hit me in the boxing ring?” Harry persisted, mind darting back to the day Louis came after him.

 

“I-I couldn’t,” Louis answered quiet and careful, eyes dipping to his bowl. “I just couldn’t bring myself to hurt you.”

 

“I hurt _you_ ,” Harry pouted, twisting to face him, sliding his dessert bowl onto the coffee table in front of the couch they’d sunk into. “I mean…I know I hurt you,” he expressed gently; and Louis sensed from the soft green of his eyes that Harry wasn’t just referring the bruises he’d left on Louis’ body.

 

“I hurt you more,” Louis accepted with a grimace. “And I—I’m sorry,” Louis expressed earnestly. “I’m really sorry that I yelled at you and assumed the worst when…when I should have given you time to explain.”

 

Louis heaved a breath into his lungs, not expecting the pain of their fight to be re-ignited that night of all nights.

 

“I know I told you that it wasn’t easy for me, but it wasn’t easy for you, either,” he swallowed, teeth scraping over his lips as guilt suddenly flooded him. “I didn’t even _think_ ,” he lamented. “I was just—in too deep, like I said,” he added more softly, eyes meeting Harry’s. “So deep.  For _you_.”

 

Harry snuck his hand along the sofa, fastening his fingers gently around Louis' upper arm and tugging until Louis crumbled, falling against Harry’s chest. Harry folded him in, squeezing tightly when Louis let out a semi-relieved breath against his chest.

 

“You can stop talking now, Lou,” Harry whispered.

 

“Fuck,” Louis hissed; curling himself tightly into the embrace.

 

“I missed you,” Harry confessed, voice husked.

 

Louis broke free of his protected cuddle, lifting his head and a hesitant hand, not sure if Harry was leading him into a false sense of security. His fingers stuttered as they landed in his hair, Harry lifting his hand in unison to slide his thumb into the gentle groove of Louis' cheek, lips twisting in a heartfelt wince as he grazed the healed scar of Louis’ cut.

 

“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” Louis carefully combed his curls back; grooving his fingertips in the back of his thick hair. “Can you ever forgive me?”

 

Harry stared at him, throat bobbing; plush lips pressing together. Louis felt his heart streak in panic, eyes flaring as he looked into his unreadable face.

 

“Harry?”

 “I’m not used to hearing you call me _Harry_ ,” Harry dipped his head to nuzzle Louis’ nose, breath catching. “Fuck, I just…” He paused; hands gently framing his face as he breathed; deep and slow.

 

“That’s your name isn’t it?” Louis asked softly; biting his lip to curb his utter fear that this was the moment Harry turned him away for good.  “Or is there something else I don’t know?”

 

Harry looked him directly in the eye before he added a soft, “I like it.”

 

“Oh,” Louis breathed; still waiting for a rejection of his plea for forgiveness.

 

“Don’t go to Hawaii,” Harry breathed, Louis clutching into his shirt with a confused huff of air.

 

“What?”

 

Harry swallowed, tilting Louis' face upwards, eyes dipping to focus on his lips.

 

“Before I kiss you…before I _forgive_ you,” he added with a slow, knowing smile. “Promise me you won’t leave…”

 

Louis frowned, grasping one of Harry’s wrists where he still held his face tenderly in his big hands.

 

“A-Alright,” he agreed shakily, hesitant. “If that’s what you want. I’ll stay and we can work this out,” he pledged. “I’ll do whatever it takes, you know that. I’d leave the Bureau tomorrow if you asked me to…”

 

“I wouldn’t do that,” Harry shook his head; eyes fastening back onto Louis’ mouth. “But I can’t let you go, love,” he mumbled, thumbs brushing Louis’ cheeks in a nervous swipe. “I can’t watch you fall for that other guy and—”

 

“What-what other guy?” Louis looked up, his free hand curling around Harry’s knee. “Harry, what guy?”

 

Harry huffed, lolling back slightly from the wine-stained breaths he was spilling over Louis’ face.

 

“Mark,” he announced with an eye roll. “Bet he doesn’t have a ten-inch dick,” he added with a pout.

 

Louis stared at him incredulously; lips parted.

 

“You-you’re—”

 

Harry ducked away quickly, cheeks flushing as he avoided Louis’ keen gaze, his hands slipping from Louis’ face to tug at his own shirt awkwardly.

 

“You can’t go to Hawaii, Lou,” Harry told him with a dark, intense gaze, chewing his lip.

 

Louis moved back in; mindful of Harry’s alcohol consumption as he ran his palm over his thigh.

 

“How drunk are you?” He asked.

 

Harry’s lips tugged in one corner.

 

“Not much,” he assured.

 

“Can I kiss you, then?” Louis checked; fingers curling into the collar of his casual shirt; sliding onto his neck.

 

“Please,” Harry managed thickly; tilting his head and leaning forward.

 

Louis shifted; lips brushing against Harry’s parted ones; earning a soft, warm sigh as he went back in for more; slanting their mouths together and kissing him properly. Harry’s brows tugged together in a concentrated furrow; his stubble rasping against Louis’ beard with a spark-like friction that ignited right into Louis’ belly.

 

 _Fuck_.

 

Harry still did that to him, got him going from a mere two-second kiss alone. Harry cupped his face and twisted; leaning back as Louis took the lead; their lips dragging together and their tongues flicking out hesitantly; eyes slipping open to just look; staring at partly-swollen mouths and dark eyes.

 

“Lou,” Harry managed, aching with regret.

 

“Shh,” Louis quietened him with another slow; passion-edged kiss. It felt right; of course it felt so right, but there was also a lot left between them _._ So much hurt; the pain they caused each other and that wasn’t going to melt away, but Harry melted into Louis as he kissed him harder; longer strokes from his tongue as his hand worked up his thigh. The heavy weight of Harry’s tongue stud pressed into Louis’ tongue; clashing against his teeth gently as they deepened the kiss.

 

They both moved slowly, Harry’s hands holding his waist as Louis twisted to climb across his lap; their mouths meeting with more urgent need. They were closer now; bodies slotting together naturally; Louis’ thighs bracketing Harry’s hips cosily; his hands settling against his rapidly rising and falling chest.

 

Louis grasped his shirt; twisting his hips experimentally and it was like a switch had been flicked, sparking electricity leaping between their bodies as they both moaned, desperately trying to get closer despite their clothing in the way. Louis’ fingers drew the buttons on Harry’s shirt through the holes; glancing  his knuckles against the warmth of his chest teasingly as he worked; lips sucking at Harry’s tenderly.

 

Harry pressed forward to wriggle out of his shirt, Louis’ fingers sliding over his hot skin, uncovered from the fabric of his shirt.

 

//

 

 

Louis tugged the shirt away, fingers squeezing his shoulders with a quiet noise of appreciation as Harry wrapped his arms around him to haul him closer; tongue licking into his mouth to taste his sounds.

 

Louis lost his breath a little and felt his heart struggle to keep up, his hands still intent on finding more bare skin. He grinned against Harry’s mouth, fingertips gliding over his shoulders and onto his arms.

 

“Really fucking beautiful,” he smirked.

 

Harry huffed and curled fingers around his neck to tug him into another kiss; his other palm sliding over Louis' thigh and around onto his ass; again coaxing him against his own body where they writhed together; tight trousers restricting the swelling of their dicks.

 

“Need you out of those pants,” Louis murmured as he guided his palm over Harry’s semi rigid dick.

 

“Yeah,” Harry twisted to lay Louis on the sofa to free his hands to unhook his own trousers while Louis awkwardly wriggled on his back to do the same.

 

“Why are you still wearing a shirt?” Harry added with dark eyes and pouted lips when Louis kicked away his suit bottoms and dug his thumbs under the band of his underwear to drag them over his hips.

 

Harry’s eyes fixed on him mid-hip lift, focusing on Louis' burgeoning arousal intently.

 

“Jesus,” Louis complained breathily. “Do you ever give up the seduction?”

 

Harry was naked as he shifted to get onto his knees; nudging between Louis' semi-parted legs to lean over him. His long fingers took over the responsibility of removing his shorts; flinging them away with a smug little smile.

 

“Who says I’m seducing you?” Harry wondered,  fingers curling around Louis' muscular legs to draw them further apart so he could shuffle closer between his thighs.

 

Louis tilted his head, hand pressing to his shoulder.

 

“Wait...don’t think that this means that you—”

 

Harry secured himself with a hand pressed into the sofa by Louis' neck, leaning in to kiss him to quiet his objections. Louis tried to fight the weakening resolve of his body as Harry laid on him gently; heavy weight shifting until he had control to rub their bodies together; a pleased little huff puffing against Louis' cheek when their dicks eventually aligned.

 

“Fuck, I missed you,” Harry growled, arms sliding around him to press their bodies hotly together; no room for anything but skin on skin; legs tangled and lips reluctant to part from long, yearning kisses.

 

“Maybe I missed you too,” Louis whispered as Harry drew back to place lingering kisses along his jaw.

 

His head popped up, Louis taking advantage of the opportunity to tuck his fingers into the curly mess of his hair, his other hand sneaking onto Harry’s bare ass with a knowing smile.

 

“Maybe?” Harry hummed, deep and husky.

 

Louis nodded. “Maybe.”

 

Harry’s brows furrowed slightly and he shifted, curling his body to start a different path for his mouth. Louis frowned, fingers tugging his hair.

 

“I mean—I _did_. _Obviously_ I did,” he murmured,  uncertain that Harry had taken his teasing words how he intended.

 

“Hmm,” Harry licked over his puckering nipple. “Think you need reminding what you’re missing, Lou...”

 

Louis watched as Harry’s mouth travelled lower; over his torso and towards his belly, each dart of Harry's tongue matched with a heated lick in Louis' lower belly.

 

“Believe me, I couldn’t forget if I tried,” he promised. “Come back up here,” he added quietly

.

“No,” Harry smiled against his skin, lifting his chin to flash a grin at him. “Not done yet.”

 

Louis wriggled, trying to shimmy down the sofa.

 

“Why wouldn’t you let me blow you, Lou?” Harry asked, lips brushing the sensitive skin beneath his belly button, swishing side to side before his tongue unfurled from his mouth and flickered out  across the salty skin. “Hm?”

 

“Didn’t want-“ Louis gasped as Harry wrapped his fingers around him finally and stroked, slowly.

 

“Didn’t want?” Harry prompted, settling back on his haunches to watch himself jerking Louis off leisurely.

 

The way he licked his lips and his hair fell in soft waves over his forehead had Louis' dick straining in Harry's hand. Harry merely smiled lazily at him, sultry and smug.

 

“Didn’t want you to think I took anything from you,” he panted.  “Just wanted to _give_ you everything. So that you’d know _after_...that it wasn’t about sex,” he explained.

 

Harry smirked.

 

“Pretty sure it was all about sex with us, Lou.”

 

Louis tremored slightly as Harry’s fingertips ran over his pulsing vein; thumb brushing over the head of his dick. Harry hummed happily while Louis struggled to keep track of the conversation.

 

“Not _just_ sex,” Louis quickly cast, eyeing Harry uncertainly.

 

Because what did his _I love you_ mean to Harry? Did it mean that he just thought Louis liked how they fucked and wanted to do it more? Harry shuffled his knees to find space to dip down, cheeks hollowing around Louis' heat.

 

“Harry?” Louis called out, fingers tugging gently at his hair.

 

Harry tongued him, bobbing his head and sucking him back into his mouth with a hum; too distracted with his task to answer. Louis let his confusion slip away as more powerful emotions took over; as pleasure and ecstasy dominated his mind.

 

He began to arch his hips into the rhythm Harry set; Harry's thumbs brushing over his hips and biting down when Louis felt like thrusting but Harry's mouth was _right_ _there_ on him when he felt the urge and his body felt weak to the control Harry had over him.

 

“Babe,” Louis breathed shakily as Harry deep-throated him, his control on a slippery edge.

 

Harry hummed, vibrations only adding to Louis’ pleasure. Harry was good with his tongue, incredible in fact and Louis hadn’t forgotten but he hadn't ever allowed himself _this_ and now that Harry was squeezing his ass-cheeks in hot hands and pinning him down with his sexy weight; well Louis might let him do it more often. If Harry wanted to, of course.

 

The idea that Harry only saw Louis as a sexual favour was enough to have hope spiralling away but Harry's hand stroking him slowly brought his eyes fluttering open in time to watch Harry tongue the underside of his dick; hands anchoring him around the waist as he gasped and arched off the bed.

 

“Mmm-Lou,” Harry slurred the sound together with Louis' name, swallowing around him and rippling his tongue.

 

Louis' fingers were in his hair,  cupping his cheek as Harry pressed the tip of Louis' dick into the soft skin  just so Louis could feel himself there, thick and strong in Harry’s mouth while he dribbled to keep him contained and it was the best blow job he’d ever gotten in his life.

 

More because it was _Harry_ than any of his _exceptional,_ exceptional skills with his mouth but--

 

Louis cried out; his body peaking; back bowed and legs stiff as he shot into Harry’s mouth; the dark glint in Harry’s eyes afterwards as he looked upwards and licked his lips burned into Louis' memory.

 

Harry crawled up to kiss him, salty bitter taste on his tongue as he French kissed him and Louis tangled their legs together while he pulled Harry closer to rut against him with pained moans in his throat.

 

He tucked his fingers into Harry’s hair as he kissed him deeply, nudging his hips against Harry’s lazy rhythm; one hand pressing into his lower back to press him closer still. Harry weakened against him with a helpless whimper, the sticky flush of his release surging against his hip; hot and wet and fuck, he was _perfect._

Louis wound his tight around Harry’s waist as Harry pressed him down into the sofa with his dead weight, incoherent rambling uttered into Louis’ neck as he comforted himself slightly.

 

Louis smiled and kissed his hair, letting out a soft sigh.

 

“You were right,” Louis murmured, covering a yawn. 

 

Harry didn’t ask him what about, but it didn’t seem to matter. Louis tucked his ankles between Harry's and felt Harry’s puffy lips press beside his mouth as his eyelids flickered shut.

 

“Not just sex,” Harry mumbled against his skin. “ _Love_ ,” he whispered, kissing him on the mouth before curling up on his chest.

 

Louis was already fast asleep and unknowing to his words.

 

 

//

 

Louis knew there was always that risk in giving into something deliciously dark and perfect; that the payoff wasn’t always so sweet.

 

Harry wasn’t there when he woke up.

 

He took a shower, dressed in some of Harry's  clothes and checked the whole house in case he’d fallen or was taken ill but it was empty; void of his dimples and lush curled hair.

 

It hurt. Louis could admit that much as he tied his shoes and tried not to let the rejection sting him into submission. He hadn't expected anything from their date but he'd still too easily trusted that the ‘yes' from last night would carry over to the next morning and...maybe Harry didn’t know how to tell him to go?

 

Louis grabbed his flung-about clothes and headed for the stairs; wiping away his tears on the backs of his hands. He was losing him again, maybe for good this time and why had he let Harry agree to anything after consuming a bottle of wine? It was obvious that alcohol blurred the lines, weakened inhibitions and amplified desire. But he’d just disregarded all of that because he’d wanted it to be true so badly that he'd trusted him at his word.

 

The alcohol, and Harry’s ardour, had clearly worn off.

 

He swung open the front door; preparing to be assaulted by the sight of the Dino which was perched proudly in the drive when Louis had pulled in beside it.

 

He came face to face with broad shoulders and slim hips.

 

“Lou?” Harry frowned, eyes flicking to the wet tracks on his cheeks. ”What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

 

Louis froze, heart stalling in his chest and tripping over itself to catch up. _Harry hadn’t left_? He wasn’t abandoning Louis to avoid telling him the hard truth. Then what—?

 

“You!” Louis huffed defensively, glaring at him. “ _You’re_ what’s wrong! _You_ happened! I thought you’d...I thought...”

 

Louis swiped at his cheeks, gasping in breath. Harry frowned, stepping closer with a torn expression. He lifted his hands to showcase a large paper sack and a drinks tray with four cups.

 

“I went to get us some breakfast?” Harry swallowed, eyeing him furtively. “I’m sorry that I worried you...”

 

Louis stared at the purchases confusedly.

 

“You...you g-got us breakfast?” His breath hitched as he sniffled.

 

“Yeah...” Harry nodded slightly. “But can I come inside so I can at least hug you?” He asked.

 

Louis stepped back to allow Harry back into the house, “You...you didn’t...um...I’m not...?”

 

Harry put the breakfast on the side table and turned with a dimpled smile; his wild hair and dorky glasses earning a flare in Louis' belly.

 

“Lou, I have no fucking idea what you’re trying to say,” Harry mused, coming closer with a hesitant smile. “But can I hold you? Please Lou? Let me just....for a minute...”

 

Harry's hair smelled like fresh bread and early sunshine. His body felt firm and addictively warm as he looped his arms around Louis' shoulders and slid a hand down his back to cuddle him in with a hum.

 

“Missed these,” his voice sounded wistful somehow and Louis relaxed into the embrace, fingers grasping at his clothing. Harry had put on mustard coloured velvet trousers for his early morning jaunt and the softest cardigan louis had ever seen pulled on over his bare chest. It was yellow with diamonds on the front in varying shades and Louis wasn’t sure how he felt about the population getting to see Harry’s collarbones and the tempting valley between his pecs before Louis was even awake.

 

Louis looked up, not sure what to expect, maybe Harry’s concerned face, or his amused one? What he found was a soft happiness, Harry’s thumb tracing the scruff along his jaw with a tiny twist of his lips.

 

“I’m glad you didn’t escape before I made it back,” he leaned down to press a meaningful kiss to Louis' mouth.

 

“I thought you’d left after...after...y’know,” Louis licked his lips, emotions and words gathering pace. “And I...I didn’t want you to because...”

 

“Because?” Harry idled, hands sliding down Louis' back to rest in the dip while his lips tugged up slightly in one corner.

 

“Just....because,” Louis frowned stubbornly,  darting his eyes away.

 

He'd told Harry he loved him before and he'd watched Harry walk away. He wanted to yell at him that he loved him, again, and tell him that he wanted to be with him properly, no more lies. He'd promised to stay and make a go of it and he'd meant it.

 

“Just because, hm?” Harry pursed his lips, eyes twinkling behind his lenses. Louis nodded resolutely, staring at the front door as Harry bent to press words against his ear.

 

“Only...in case you were too much of an idiot to notice, I’m in love with you,” He murmured. “And you _do_ seem to be kind of an idiot about these things...”

 “You...what?” Louis opened his mouth to stare.

 

“I love you, Lou. I’m _in_ love with you...I was hoping that last night made that pretty clear?”

“I...but...I...you...” Louis floundered, brain short circulating. “I thought you were _gone_ ,” he mumbled mostly to himself.

 

Harry merely winked at him cutely.

 

“Why don’t we have the coffee I bought before it goes cold?” He suggested with a warm voice that matched the patch of chest on show, Louis' palm now pressed against it. “I got us some pastries, too. Did you know they have organic produce at the Bun’s Oven?” Harry named the bakery nearby.

 

“I did not,” Louis murmured.

 

“After breakfast I can remind you how good I am with my tongue again, love. How does that sound, hm?”

 

Louis curled a hand around Harry’s neck to guide him down, stretching his body to match the height difference between them and pressing a very long, heartfelt kiss against his lips.

 

“I love you too,” he whispered, tears shimmering in his eyes as Harry met his gaze, mildly startled.

 

“All the love,” Harry mumbled in a thick voice.

 

“Yes, all of it,” Louis agreed, fingers digging into his hair only for Harry to pitch forward to kiss him again, softer this time and more consuming.

 

“Breakfast,” Harry cleared his throat, pulling himself from Louis' arms slightly to reach for his packages.

 

Louis looked up when Harry balanced the two items in one capable hand and reached for his hand; leading him up the stairs and back into his bedroom.

 

 

//

 

“Jesus,” Louis breathed out as his front was pressed hard against the wall, Harry’s body grinding into him from behind; his dick finding home in the cleft of his ass.

 

Harry had told him in a deep, husked voice how good he thought Louis looked in _his_ clothes, when Louis had got up to bin their rubbish and Harry had pinned him helplessly in place.

 

“Forgotten my name already?” Harry murmured.

 

“I’m not calling you _King_ ,” Louis argued; Harry’s teeth sinking into his shoulder in a surprisingly hot, biting kiss.

 

“No?” Harry enquired; hands securing at Louis’ hips while he pressed into him with a fluid roll; hips grinding his hardening dick against his ass again.

 

Louis licked his lips and tried to catch his errant breath. Of all the fucking times for his sanity to go flying out of the window; it had to be when he needed to take control.

 

“Gonna call you _Babe_ ,” he whispered; squeezing his eyes shut as Harry’s fingers slipped underneath his vest to stroke over his tummy; tugging Louis back against him as he rolled his hips. He stuttered and froze; mid-grind.

 

“What?” Harry breathed against his ear; breath catching.

 

Louis smirked to himself; pressing his palms to the wall to leverage himself from the surface. Harry pushed back against him quickly on realising his move; heated breath panted into his cheek.

 

“I want to fuck you over the edge of the bed,” He told Louis starkly.

 

Louis bit his lip; forcing a swallow down his throat to fight back the urge to whimper. Because he kind of wanted that too. But more than that; he wanted to finish what they’d started and never got to finish. He wanted to come inside Harry, this time.

 

“But _Babe_ ,” he twisted; freeing himself from Harry’s hold to grin at him devilishly. “Thought we had unfinished business…don’t you want to ride me?” He asked; sneaking his arms around Harry’s waist with an arch of his brow; twisting Harry slowly around.

 

“No,” Harry’s hand splayed against the wall to fight the motion. “Too many bad memories,” he argued. “Every time I get in your lap I’m gonna be looking over my shoulder for the Feds to fucking ruin it,” he muttered; pressing forward to sear Louis’ mouth with his own; crying out a little in his throat as their bodies surged together once more; front to front now.

 

 _Every time I get in your lap._ Louis couldn’t help the way his body hardened in response to that promise. He kissed Harry hotly, flickering his tongue against his neck before scraping his teeth there, earning a quiet grunt of pleasure from the other man.

 

Louis took advantage of Harry’s evident weakening; turning them to shunt Harry’s back to the wall gently; his hand sliding up his back to take the impact.

 

“Then let me fuck you here,” Louis panted; lips dragging over his jaw, teeth biting into his stubble. He made sure to suck a mark in the juncture by his ear; his favourite spot because he knew how weak Harry got when he—

 

Harry gasped and dragged him back in for another mouth-to-mouth kiss; tongues slowly flicking together and into each other’s mouths as they smeared their lips.

 

“Babe,” Louis whispered, just because. Just because Harry whimpered a bit in his throat and tried to hook his thigh over Louis’ hip.

 

Louis caught it in his capable hand and squeezed.

 

“I’m not gonna be gentle,” he warned.

 

Harry’s eyes popped open; dark, swirling green. His tongue flicked over his lower lip, chest flushing with heat.

 

“Why are we still talking?” Harry asked.

 

They had little clothing to strip, Louis in his borrowed sweats and t-shirt and Harry's yellow pants and cardigan flung away brashly while their mouths met hungrily for heated kisses.

 

Louis caught Harry up in his strong arms; Harry's  back pressed to the wall as he fingered him; first with two and then three; kisses pressed into his chest and his tongue teasing his nipples into hard little buds, gasped little whimpers from Harry edging Louis on with gentle twists of his fingers, parting them to ease his tightness open.

 

Harry’s thighs were tight around his waist; flexing with the strain of holding himself up but his body looked beautiful arched and suspended that way; delicate ribs and lush pouches of skin beside his hips that Louis grasped to hoist him up.

 

They kissed harder after that. Harry tugged his hair and Louis got his hands all over him while vainly trying to hold him up. It was messy but it was hot and it worked. Harry was hard; beautifully so, a flush set high on his cheeks and a pretty pink burn on his tummy where Louis had French-kissed his belly button for too long.

 

Harry blinked at him, swollen lips sucked into his mouth one by one.

 

“C’mon then, kitten,” he invited with a slow, sexy smirk. A challenge. It was the first time Harry had called him _kitten_ in too long.

 

Louis had yet to prove himself in bed. Or out of it; technically. He stepped away to slide on his protection; fingers working slowly over his heat with lube; blue eyes clashing with green.

 

“Turn around,” Louis murmured.

 

Harry’s lashes fluttered. He swallowed; turning toward the wall and gently placing his hands upon its surface.

 

“Spread your legs,” Louis instructed; his bare foot sliding over Harry’s ankle in gentle play; as though he were an Officer giving him his orders.

 

Harry settled his feet further apart; breath leaving his lips in quickened pants. Louis’ hands began to slide over him; slow and warm and sensuous.

 

“Nice little body,” he observed; fingertips gently digging into his abs and sliding in a circle over his ass-cheek.

 

Harry leaned into the wall instinctively. Louis shuffled between his legs; wrapping a hand around himself and gently pressing between his ass-cheeks.

 

“Mind if I carry out an intimate search?” Louis whispered against his shoulder; kissing there afterwards.

 

Harry shivered; a throaty hum of agreement pealing from his throat.

 

Louis slid his hands on top of the backs of Harry’s, keeping them pressed to the wall. His dick was caught on Harry’s rim; circling for entry in the slowest grind Harry had ever experienced.

 

“Lou,” he huffed; trying to push his hips backwards but Louis bit him; sweetly.

 

“Behave, you little minx,” Louis accused softly. Soft enough to have Harry thrumming quietly while he waited patiently for Louis’ next move.

 

Louis pressed a hand underneath his belly button; fingers pressing firmly into his pubic bone, his other hand fastening around his hip-flesh; fingertips digging in hard enough to bite. Harry took a gasped breath; thick, searing heat filling him in the next swift minute; his body half-expecting the sudden invasion and yet unable to comprehend the feeling all at once.

 

His muscles gripped at him; easing off into little sporadic spasms and he bit his lip hard to stop himself coming; the intensity of Louis’ thickness filling him too much for his body to bear. He’d been too long without him. He wanted him more than he wanted anything else. And now he had him; clutched tightly between his ass-cheeks as Louis’ warm body pressed in close to overwhelm him with his presence.

 

“You good?” Louis asked; and that was what almost undid Harry.

 

Hearing his caring words, still. He’d beaten Louis to nearly a bruised pulp and he’d walked away from him but Louis had let Harry knock on his door and offered his help without a second thought to his own hurt.

 

Harry nodded to answer the question; widening his feet slightly. _He was really good_. Quivering at the feel of Louis inside him at last and nobody else to interrupt this time. No distractions.

 

“Good,” Louis murmured; fucking in hard and shunting Harry against the wall slightly.

 

Harry felt Louis' fingers press above the base of his dick; nails digging into his skin as he fucked into him again; three thrusts and then a pause; keeping him full as he tremored; muscles flexing once more around him.

 

“You like that, hm?” Louis asked anyway.

 

Harry shook his head. A blatant lie. But—

 

“No?” Louis smirked; fucking slow but rough; a steady pulse now.

 

 _Fuck_. He shouldn’t have lied. Now Louis was going to prove him wrong. He was going to keep fucking him until he spurted all over the bedroom wall and until his legs went weak with his orgasm.

 

“S’good,” he quickly gasped as Louis wrapped a hand around his heat finally.

 

“Sure, now?” He asked, nosing against his ear as he sharpened the jerks of his hips. Harry’s legs began to quiver, his toes curled and something felt like sparks as Louis got into him, deep.

 

“S’really good,” he promised; shaking out his sweaty curls and shivering at the trickle of sweat down his spine.

 

Harry thought he heard Louis mutter ‘I’ll show you good’, but he couldn’t be sure; his head swam a bit with the pleasure lapping over him in waves now; Louis shuffling up close to press him right into the wall; his hands caught up behind his back as Louis really fucked him; soft words juxtaposing his firm thrusts.

 

“Missed you, love…want this…want you…fuck, you’re so beautiful…”

 

Harry chuckled quietly at his sweet compliments; gasping when Louis flicked his hips to sink deep enough that Harry stretched around him; rim tight as Louis throbbed hotly inside him. He stayed there; pressing kisses to Harry’s shoulder as he gently circled his hips.

 

“Gonna come just like this,” Louis told him. “Want to feel you…want to be deep inside you, Harry…”

 

_Harry._

He was getting used to hearing it now. In some small part he missed hearing Louis call him by his pseudo-name but the implications of Louis calling him by his real name were what had him crying out; gasping Louis’ name.

 

“Good, hm?” Louis pressed his palm to Harry’s belly as Harry took a hold of his own dick to stroke himself slowly in rhythm to Louis' thrusts.

 

“Love you,” Harry drew Louis' hand closer to stroke himself with both of their hands, head thrown back with a happy, throaty laugh as Louis fucked him nice and hard, teeth nipping at the back of his neck between hot, panted breaths.

 

“Yes, love,” Louis encouraged softly, staying deep and pressing Harry against the wall with a cry of pleasure.

 

Harry could only give himself over to the intensity of it all, completely surrounded by Louis whose fingers found his pulsing vein and traced it in delicate tenderness; fingertips working over him until he had Harry splashing his release heavily onto the papered wall.

 

Louis crushed him against the surface as he released inside him, into the condom; the hot thud of his heart-beat scorched into Harry’s skin.

 

Louis released his wrists from where he had caught them up; easing himself from Harry’s body. Harry swallowed, pressing his hands to the wall. _Well, fuck._ He'd fucked a great many people; some he may have even loved. But that was—He might need a lifetime to get over it.

 

“Babe?” Louis gently drew him away from the wall and led him towards the bed, Harry curling into his arms with a resolute sigh.

 

He could acknowledge that he wanted this. He wanted _Louis_. He wanted a different life than the one he had _thought_ was perfect. Louis had taught him to want more. And Ben had released him from his contract easily enough but the new auditions were hard. He wasn’t as good at convincing casting Directors of his emotion as he was at fucking people, hard.

 

Louis held him tightly as he burrowed into him, afraid of the future. Louis had to feature in it, no matter what.

 

“Lou?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I love you.”

 

Louis smoothed his hand over his arm, fingers clawing into his hair tenderly.

 

“Love you too,” he pressed a kiss to the top of Harry’s head.

 

“I want to—I want to be with you,” he promised.

 

Louis pulled the covers over their naked bodies, circling Harry with his arms.

 

“I want to be with you too, Babe,” Louis assured softly. “What’s all this about?” He wondered.

 

Harry swallowed,  tilting his chin up from his protective cocoon.

 

“The reason I was thinking of selling the beach house is because I haven’t found work, yet,” he admitted, wriggling in Louis' embrace and earning a kiss to his nose. “I might not have a choice, eventually. I know I’ve got money saved up but – What if I don't find a job?” He beseeched.

 

“Harry, I don’t love you because of your money,” Louis rubbed his palm across his wide shoulders which curved to make himself smaller to fit against Louis more easily. “If you need me then I’m here for you. I’ll pay for you to find Sebastian and you can live at my place and drive my beat up Zodiac if you dare to be seen in it,” Louis joked as Harry snorted and flicked his eyes away.

 

“But part—part of the attraction of _me_ is my success,” Harry argued. “My profile and my— _dick_ ,” he mumbled sheepishly.

 

Louis stared at him, stroking his neck.

 

“Who told you that?”

 

Harry shrugged, wary green eyes meeting Louis'.  Louis kissed him, softly, half a smile on his mouth as the kiss turned sweet; lips slicking together.

 

“You want to know what’s attractive about you?” Louis asked when he pulled away.

 

Harry couldn’t help his burgeoning, smug smile.

 

“It’s always nice to hear...”

 

Louis rolled his eyes, fingers splaying underneath his ear, thumb sliding against his jaw.

 

“You always want to kiss me,” Louis began, cautiously at first. “Or touch me in some way...you want to hold me, “ he added.

 

“Yeah, of course,” Harry pouted, shifting to sit up but Louis slid his thigh between Harry’s to hold him in place.

 

“You make me feel very _wanted_ ,” Louis described, Harry’s eyes fixing on him with dark intensity. “And you’ve got this wild hair and a wild fucking heart, too,” Louis whispered, lashes brushing his cheeks shyly. “I mean you’re so courageous to just go out there in the world and do whatever you want and that’s what---that’s what got me interested, you know?”

 

Harry stared at him as he licked his lips and took a calming breath.

 

“The fact that you get me harder than I’ve ever been and look like pure sin when I’ve got my hands on you is just a passing bonus,” he teased, softly, eyes dipping to Harry’s bare chest where he brushed the backs of his fingers slowly. “The fact that your body is beautiful...” Blue eyes fastened on green. “ _Fuck,_ you’re so much more than that, Harry,” Louis promised. “You’re sweet and kind and--"

 

“Shush,” Harry surged forward to press his lips against Louis’ to quiet him, teasing him into a kiss. “Shh, I get it,” he mumbled as he nuzzled their noses together with a smile and a sigh; opening his hazy olive eyes to blink at him.

 

Louis closed his eyes with a self satisfied smile, tightening his arm around Harry’s shoulders as he cuddled closer.

 

“Right, just so you know,” he murmured.

 

Louis felt Harry place a kiss on his cheek; arms sliding around his waist to fold him tightly against his languid body.

 

“Shall I tell you how wonderful you are now?” Harry’s voice was thick with emotion.

 

Louis squirmed, shaking his head.

 

“I’m not, so no,” he argued. “Just...let’s sleep for a bit?” He suggested.

 

Harry pouted, looking at Louis while he flitted his gaze away and eventually he coaxed his knee between Louis' and kissed him until they slipped back into sleep, Louis still tightly held in his arms.

 

//

 

It had been Harry’s idea to re-write their appreciation lists with their real names and although he hadn’t seen their date taking that particular route, Louis was only too happy to indulge Harry in his playful eagerness.

 

“Do you need a dictionary, Lou?” Harry asked; lifting up his bowl of half-melted chocolate ice-cream that Louis had dished out from the freezer.

 

“No, pretty sure you’re the one struggling with so many more letters to assign,” he smirked.

 

Harry narrowed his lashes at him.

 

“I can think of plenty of nice things about you,” he assured.

 

Louis felt the guilt and regret creep up on him. He could still remember Harry’s disappointment at Louis not letting him share his thoughts the last time they'd seen each other; cuddled in bed with sweet words and sweeter kisses.

 

“Maybe throw in a couple of flaws to keep me grounded,” he teased.

 

Harry rolled his eyes and kept writing.

 

Little :)

Outgoing

Understanding

Intelligent

Sexy

Talk

Orgasm 😉

Mysterious

Lips

Impish

Nice

Sexy

Open

Naughty

 

Louis peered across his lap to check his progress, frantically searching for words to catch up.

 

Happy

Artistic

Really beautiful

Romantic

Yummy

Sexy

Tease

Young

Lover

Easy going

Sensitive

 

They swapped pages after Louis made them hot chocolate drinks. Harry snorted.

 

“Really beautiful?” He teased. “Radiant, perhaps?”

 

Louis rolled his eyes.

 

“Same thing,” he muttered, running his thumb over the word mysterious. “Naughty?” He called out. “Think that’s you, love,” he mused.

 

Harry blinked at him, his lips flicking up in one corner.

 

“You're plenty naughty, Lou,” he caught his lower lip up in his teeth carefully to punctuate his thought.

 

Louis narrowed his gaze, avoiding the double use of ‘sexy' that Harry had selected.

 

“When?” He demanded to know.

 

Harry lifted his brows; paper slipped onto the coffee table as he twisted in the seat to answer him.

 

“Well, how about the woods?” Harry smirked. “Pretty damn naughty, Lou...”

 

Louis’ mind flashed up snapshots of their wet bodies; crowded in the back of the tiny sports car; grinding together and after that his tongue flicking into Harry's body to teach him who was in charge.

 

“Okay, yeah,” Louis managed to rasp breathily, eyes flicking up to meet Harry's. Harry smiled more softly.

 

“First time we kissed,” he murmured.

 

Louis swallowed. He hadn’t expected Harry to remember that.

 

“It was.”

 

Harry’s eyes dipped to his mouth.

 

“You look good wet, Lou.”

 

“Is that so?” Louis swallowed, eyeing Harry’s throat.

 

“Wanna get wet again right now, kitten?” Harry asked breathily, lip bitten between his teeth to curb his eagerness.

 

“No, but I want you to fuck me,” Louis replied candidly, eyes flicking up to meet Harry's.

 

Harry smirked and stood up, picking Louis up in his arms to carry him to bed while Louis protested loudly.

 

//

 

“My Dad wants to meet you,” Harry told Louis as they were curled together, sweat drying and bodies cooling off from the hot sex they’d just partaken in.

 

Harry had thrown him over the bed and fucked him dirty and it had never felt like _that_ before. Like the whole world might implode with the intensity of his pleasure.

 

“I’ve already met him,” Louis murmured,  shifting to cuddle Harry into his arms. Harry didn’t like to think too much about how Louis knew he liked it when he did that, he just pressed a tender kiss to his mouth and rested his chin on the top of Louis' head as they wrapped up close.

 

“I mean like...as my... _you_ _know_...” Harry mumbled into his hair.

 

“Boyfriend?” Louis laid it out there, wide open. He wanted to be Harry’s boyfriend. Wanted everyone to know. They'd spent too long fighting, too long hurting from misunderstandings and Louis just wanted to be there already, committed and present.

“Yeah,” Harry’s swallow sounded dry. “That.”

 

“You can say it you know,” Louis teased, lifting his head to dislodge Harry's. He ran his thumb over his swollen lips as Harry’s olive eyes watched him carefully.

 

“Wasn’t sure if you wanted to,” he admitted quietly.

 

“I gave you a fucking ring,” Louis countered, equally softly. “What made you think I _wouldn't_?”

 

Harry’s lips twitched, his eyes lighting up after being latent post-orgasm. He twisted a bit in Louis' arms.

 

“You might....you know...want to try out a few other models before settling on _one_ ,” he teased with a rueful smirk. “I’m not the only well-endowed, long-legged stunner in the whole of Los Angeles, after all...”

 

Louis knew he was blatantly fishing for reassurance. He was a fool for him enough to humour him.

 

“Pretty sure _you’re_ the one with all the options, Sunflower. Bet you got all the boys fighting for a go,” he joked.

 

Harry rolled on top of him with a grin.

 

“There’s only one who wants my _heart_ though...”

 

Louis shifted his legs to let Harry sink between them more comfortably. Harry kissed him, once, twice and then again, softer and longer while Louis flexed his fingers in his hair. Harry pulled away to look at him intently, nostrils flaring as he caught his breath.

 

“And does he have it?” Louis asked, palm pressing to Harry’s warm smooth chest, fingertips grazing over the swell of his pectoral.

 

Harry smiled slowly, eyes casting shyly away.

 

“I guess so.”

 

“You guess?” Louis checked, bemused.

 

“I’d hate to put all my cards on the table only to find out that _Mark_ or some other guy had stolen you away from me,” He countered, brushing Louis’ fringe from his eye gently.

 

“Babe,” Louis soothed in a soft raspy voice that made Harry dimple and squirm between his thighs. “I love you. I miss you all the time I'm not with you but I’m not sure it’s cool to admit that,” he arched a brow and huffed, glancing away. “But my heart is absolutely yours,” he promised. “No other tall, hung, pretty boy can tempt me away...”

 

Harry snorted, nose wrinkling cutely as he dipped his head to hide his laughter.

 

“Louis?”

 

“Hm...”

 

“I love you,” Harry stated softly, dropping a kiss to his mouth. “And my heart is yours.”

 

Louis’ own heart fluttered in his chest, apparently having grown wings and wanting to take flight.

 

“Oh,” he murmured breathily. _That was nice to hear._

“And Lou?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Where are the glasses you used to wear?”

 

Louis clapped out a loud laugh at the question.

 

“Hate to say it, love, but you’re the geek with glasses,” he mused. “I’m a fraud.”

 

Harry kissed him with a hum.

 

“Maybe you can get them back...“ he begged gently.

 

Louis smoothed a hand over his wide shoulders.

 

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Louis promised.

 

He leaned up to kiss Harry some more, addicted to the feel of his lips and the way he felt heavy on top of him. Addicted to the feeling of belonging to him in a way that nobody had belonged to him before. Louis was a first, in some small way. The very experienced, sexually accomplished man between his thighs had picked _him_ out of all the guys he had kissed and slept with.

 

“I'm sorry,” Louis whispered between sipping kisses.

 

“What for?” Harry rumbled, hips flexing gently against him as his breath hitched, body getting hard again.

 

“For being a dick,” He apologised, again. Louis wrapped his legs around Harry’s waist to assist his grinding movement.

 

“I’ll _give_ you a dick if you like,” Harry promised before pressing owning lips to Louis' and kissing him hotly.

 

Louis gave into the demand; hoping that Harry genuinely had forgiven him for his mistakes. Hoping that they could move on _together._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to every single one of you that has supported me throughout this story, giving me courage to keep pushing myself and putting myself out there.  
> There will be a short epilogue to finish "Eddie".  
> Ang


	13. Epilogue

 

“Happy anniversary, love,” Harry panted, rolling onto his back as he wiped sweat off his flushed chest, tugging Louis into his side with a curled arm.

 

“Fuck yeah,” Louis kissed his pec, lifting his knees to cuddle into Harry’s body.

 

His devil outfit from the shoot was flung haphazardly across the bedroom floor,  Harry’s sparkling white Angel costume also scattered there.

 

The glitter trailed across his cheeks was smeared and Louis smirked as his fingertips found some of the particles in Harry’s happy trail.

 

“Are you picking up Sebastian?” Louis' hair tickled Harry’s armpit as he twisted to look at him, head lolling back on his bicep.

 

Harry shook his head, blinking sleepily, post-orgasm.

 

“No, I’m going tomorrow. The agency are almost ready to increase my visits to daily but because he’s changed pre-school’s to be closer to us, they want to take it slow.”

 

“And Theo and Grace are good?” Louis checked of Sebastian’s foster parents.

 

Harry smiled, kissing Louis' hand.

 

“They’re really good. They seem to like me, despite everything...”

 

Louis glanced up, gauging Harry’s expression. Louis had only seen photographs of Sebastian so far, the agency having strict rules about partners being introduced to potential adoptees. Louis was happy to support Harry in achieving adoption of his half-brother. They had plenty of time to meet properly and get to know each other.

 

“Of course they like you,” Louis scoffed. “Everybody likes you.”

 

“Well, I did start my professional career as an adult actor,” Harry mused, fondly smiling at Louis.

 

Louis poked his dimple.

 

“Never bothered me, love,” he sniffed.

 

“Only when I lied about my size,” Harry quipped with a smirk that Louis shifted to kiss off his lips.

 

The shrill, instant sound of the alarm-clock on the side table startled Harry from the kiss.

 

“Hm? What's..?” He propped up on an elbow as Louis scrambled out of bed. “Why is the alarm set for 9 o’clock at night, Lou?” Harry asked.

 

“You know exactly why,” Louis rolled his eyes and ran to the TV set on the bedroom counter, switching it on and setting the channel.

 

 “Lou... _No_ ,” Harry sat up, mouth gaping in horror.

 

“If you think I’m missing my boyfriend’s debut on the highly-acclaimed new family comedy on prime time television, then you don’t even know me at all,” he mused, walking back to the bed naked and sliding under the covers.

 

Harry glared at the side of his face until it was evident that Louis wasn’t going to give in.

 

“Fine,” he huffed, plopping down to curl into Louis' lap.

 

“You already said no to watching it with Robin and Niall, love, don’t pout like that, you’re not a fish.”

 

“It’s _awkward_ , Lou,” he whined. “I hate watching myself.”

 

Another shrill ring pierced the ambient atmosphere, Harry glaring at the phone Louis must have dragged in from the hall extension without Harry noticing. Louis had distracted him with the costumes,  he realised belatedly with a resigned sigh.

 

“Why don't _you_ get that?” Louis intoned, reaching for the phone to lift it onto the bed.

 

Harry picked up the receiver with a dull, “Hello.”

 

“Oh hi, Dad. Fancy you calling, hey?”

 

Harry rolled onto his back to stare accusingly at Louis, the phone wire tangling around his torso with the movement.

 

“Mmhm, he’s here. Yes, we're watching,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Well I’m glad you’re both so excited...It’s about to start, you better go now. No, don’t call me after...Dad! I said—”

 

Harry settled the receiver back on the phone base, eyeing Louis distrustfully.

 

“What?” Louis smiled sweetly, eyes glued to the screen so as not to miss the opening credits.

 

“Apparently Dad invited Niall over to watch the show with him.” Harry relayed.

 

“Oh? That’s nice, love. You could even say that they’re ‘ _Happy Together_ ’,” he snorted at his own joke, eyes crinkling at the edges as he dipped down to kiss Harry's sulky mouth.

 

Louis leaned back to jig along to the theme music, Harry bolting up and dragging Louis down the bed to pin him to it.

 

“Not as happy as _we_ are, Lou,” He kissed him, temptingly. “...And not as happy as my dick will be after round two...”

 

“Harry...wait!” Louis gasped as Harry leaned down to kiss him again.

 

“What’s up, Loubear?”

 

“We can fuck during the commercial break, love. Now hush, you’re about to make your debut...” He insisted, gently pushing Harry onto his back just as the music ended and canned studio laughter sounded out.

 

“Oh god,” Harry covered his face with his hands with his back against the headboard, his body craving more of Louis’ warmth.

 

 If someone had told Eddie Twist a year ago that this would be his life, he would have laughed in their face. A steady boyfriend? Free of Ben's contract? Acting in a _family_ show?

 

And the biggest change of all was that _Eddie_ was a thing of the past. Harry was finally out of hiding, and as he glimpsed over at Louis, finding him smiling proudly despite the fact Harry hadn’t even been shown on screen yet, he finally realised he had everything he didn’t know he’d been searching for. Louis was _home_ in a way Harry didn’t even know a person could be.

 

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Louis shifted to wrap his arm around Harry’s shoulders so that Harry could snuggle into him once more. Harry went with a contented hum, reassured that Louis was safe now that he was working as his own boss as a Private Eye.

 

No more dangerous missions, no more undercover roles. No more bullets and threats to his safety. Louis was his _forever_ and they could build their own little family when they were ready. Harry hadn’t let himself hope that could be a reality, before.

 

Harry leaned over a bit to kiss Louis' jaw, grinning as Louis tried to bat him away.

 

“Harry Styles, am I going to have to place you under arrest?”

 

“Mmm wouldn’t be the first time,” Harry smirked, pinching his nipple.

 

“It's not too late, _Eddie_...” Louis pecked his lips.

 

“You can place me under arrest any day, kitten. But as much as I’d like to be _under_ you, I have no objections to _you_ being under _me_ either...”

 

“Right, let’s settle this,” Louis sprung into action the second the advert break ran, twisting to grasp Harry’s wrists and using his FBI training to overpower Harry on the bed with a triumphant smirk.

 

“Hey, Lou?” Harry panted after a hot kissing session in which Louis missed five minutes of the show.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What happened to our films?”

 

Louis frowned, Harry crowding back underneath his arm.

 

“Er...The Bureau took them from the studio,” he explained. “Niall said he’d sort it,” he added. “Get them destroyed...”

 

“Do you think he did?” Harry wondered. “Because you know, I’d kinda like to see if any were intact...”

 

“Love, nobody’s going to use those tapes against us, okay?” Louis assured, rubbing his arm and kissing his temple. “I promise you, Niall will have got rid.”

 

Harry curled up with a silly grin, a twist of wistfulness over wanting to watch their videos back replaced with a much warmer feeling. One of being protected and utterly loved. He let Louis watch the rest of the show in contented peace.

 

~~~~~~~

 

In a dark room, light flickers from behind broken blinds onto the windows and into the street below for anyone who might be passing by. At 3am  the neighbourhood lies still with quiet.

_“Oh fuck...yeah, right there. Fuck, yes!”_

Agent Niall Horan grabs for another doughnut from the opened tray settled on the coffee table of his modest town house, eyes fixed to the screen in front of him.

 

_“C'mon Angel, you like that hm?  Want more?”_

 

He licks the frosting from his finger as another pleasured moan sounds out from the old television set framed in a wheeled cabinet.

 

 _“Want your fingers._ _Th-There! Fuck!”_

His lips pull into a superior smirk, fingers licked clean of sugar and cream as he watches a devilish Louis press Angelic Harry into the wall to twist his fingers in deep.

 

“Whose dick is seasoned now, eh Tommo? Your dick is more seasoned than my chicken ever was...”

~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand cut!
> 
> Thank you everyone for coming along for the ride! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  
> I am posting "Ring My Bell" next, featuring Harry & Bell :)
> 
> Ang


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